Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins
by Dragon Master Jack
Summary: Welcome to my first fanfic! In this story, we meet my OC, Jack Starburn and follow him as he begins his journey into the world of Pokemon! This story also features Ash Ketchum, Delia Ketchum, Gary Oak, Professor Oak and many more! Join us, as we begin the adventures of Dragon Master Jack!
1. Ash & Jack

Hello and welcome to my first ever fanfic, a story which I have been working on for the past 6 months or so now.

I was reading through the selection of Pokemon stories and thinking about the anime, wishing I could find a story where Ash had a mentor of some kind that helped him out on his journey, as we all know, Ash was always a bit... slow... in the anime.

So I thought, why not write my own story?

In this story, which is kind of a prequel to the main story idea I have in my head, is the back story into my OC, Jack Starburn, Ash's best friend.

In my world, Jack is two years older than Ash and by the time the main story starts, he will be 2 years into his own journey, with powerful Pokemon at his side to help him and Ash.

I've always loved Dragon-type Pokemon, so that is what my OC's dream is going to be, to become a Dragon Master. Hence, the title of this story; Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins.

Like I said, this is my first story and after reading fan fiction for nearly a year, I think of got the hang of it. My un-official Beta is my younger brother. Constructive criticism is appreciated, flames are not.

Now then! On with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's. **

**If I did own Pokemon, Ash would have been far more intelligent.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Ash &amp; Jack!<strong>

Not a lot is known about what happened to Ash Ketchum before he started on his journey to become a Pokemon Master. His father left both him and his mother, Delia, when he was a toddler and he was teased by Gary Oak and some of the other children around the town of Pallet when he was younger. However, he always had someone to turn to in his time of distress, his best friend; Jack.

Jack Starburn was a boy only 2 and a half years older than Ash but he was 5ft (60 inches) tall at the age of 10, one of the tallest kids his age, Jack had thick, dark-brown hair and ocean-blue eyes.

Jack was always around for Ash when they were younger, always telling off Gary Oak and comforting Ash when the teasing got bad. Occasionally he would have to protect Ash from wild Pokemon coming out of the tree line, which serves as a boundary on two sides of Pallet Town, if Ash strayed to close to the border. Jack was Ash's best friend and older brother in all but blood, because he didn't look down on Ash in annoyance or tease him like the other kids, he protected him. Ash told Jack he wanted to be a Pokemon Master and confided all of his hopes, dreams and ambitions in Jack, who would always nod with a smile on his face, while encouraging Ash. In turn, Jack told Ash stories his parents told him about legendary Pokemon and Dragon-type Pokemon, while Ash would listen with stars in his eyes. It was Jack's dream to become a Dragon-type Pokemon Master. Jack would always go on about the starter Pokemon he wanted to begin his Pokemon journey with, Charmander. As Charmander's final evolution is Charizard, a Pokemon which Jack calls 'Dragon Potential', meaning it isn't necessarily a Dragon-type Pokemon, however it can learn Dragon-type moves, such as Dragon Rush and Dragon Rage.

Jack's dreams and goals were to go around the world and capture Dragon Pokemon to train and become friends with and to beat Lance, the Dragon Master and Champion of the Johto League. While Jack wanted to begin with Charmander, a Kanto starter, he wanted to head to the Johto region and Blackthorn City first and then head onto completing the Johto Gym circuit. Another reason for starting in the Johto region would be the fact that there are more Dragon-type Pokemon accessible there than in the Kanto region, such as Dratini.

Today, on a surprisingly warm, autumn day, we find Ash sitting under a tree on the southern border of Pallet Town, watching a flock of Spearow flying over the water. Ash sighed, tomorrow was the day Jack was due to get his first Pokemon and begin his Pokemon journey. Unfortunately for Ash, he would have to wait 2 years until he could join his best friend. Jack apparently heard Ash sigh and jumped down from the tree branch above Ash.

"What's up Ash?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Do you really have to leave tomorrow? Can't you wait two years for me?" Ash asked sadly. Jack sighed. He knew what Ash was going through. Ash didn't have a lot of other friends beside himself. However, it wasn't fair to ask him to wait another two years and Ash knew it.

"Sorry Ash, but its time for me to begin my dream, to become a Dragon Master, like Lance!" he replied. Ash sighed sadly.

"I know, I just wish I was older so I could join you" he pouted. Jack laughed and ruffled Ash's hair. Ash yelped and fell backwards, glaring playfully at Jack.

Suddenly, a Pidgey hooted from above Ash and he jumped. Jack laughed again.

"You're never… *gasp* going to be a… haha… Pokemon Master if you… *snicker*… get startled by every Pokemon" he gasped out, while laughing. Ash glared at Jack. After Jack calmed down from his laughing fit, he sat down next to Ash.

"It's okay Ash, I'll come back for the beginning of your journey, after I tour the Johto Region".

"Well, that's okay I suppose" Ash replied with a smile. "When are you leaving Pallet?" he asked.

"I'll be up at Oak's Lab by 10am to get my starter" he grinned. He hoped to get a Charmander.

"Then were will you go?" Ash asked, confused on how Jack was going to get to the Johto Region.

"Professor Oak arranged for a boat to pass by Pallet on the way from Cinnabar to New Bark Town. Apparently Oak needed to pass some research papers onto Professor Elm anyway, so it was easier this way" Jack replied happily.

"Oh" Ash replied, stunned. Jack agreed silently. Professor Oak was a major part of Pallet Town, for him to give something as important as research papers to Jack, well. It implied a lot of trust.

It was starting to get late, Jack stood up.

"Come on Ash, your mum is probably wondering where you are". Ash nodded, jumping up.

"Race you to your place" Jack yelled over his shoulder, running.

"No fair, you got a head start!" Ash yelled back.

As they reached Ash's house, his mother, Delia, opened the door.

"Hi there Jack, where's my Ashy?" She questioned him.

"Running behind me" he replied with a smirk, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. Delia looked up and saw Ash sprinting towards them. She giggled.

"Hurry up Ashy! Dinners on the table" she shouted. She retreated into the house, allowing Jack to enter.

"Smells good Mrs. Ketchum" Jack said to Delia as they sat down to eat dinner. Jack had eaten at the Ketchum's many times before now. As neither Ash nor Jack had any siblings, they became like brothers to each other.

"Thank you Jack" Delia replied, brightly. She then looked to Ash expectantly.

Rolling his eyes, Ash spoke up, "Yeah, dinner looks good mum".

"Thank you Ashy" she replied with a mischievous smile. Ash blushed slightly, while Jack chuckled. Delia often said things like this to embarrass Ash, fortunately for him, Jack was used to it.

As they finished their meal, Jack stood up and moved to help Delia with the washing up. She smiled at him and moved over slightly. Ash never did the washing up and the first several times Jack attempted to help, Delia protested, but eventually she stopped, knowing he just wanted to help.

"So you're leaving tomorrow then?" she half asked, half stated, conversationally. Ash quickly got up from the table and moved to the living room to turn the TV on, his eyes suspiciously wet.

Jack looked up as Ash left the room, and smiled sadly.

"Yes, its time for me to begin my journey" he replied. Delia sniffed and turned away.

"You know we'll miss you" she spoke, her voice wavering slightly. "You're always welcome at the Ketchum's".

"I know, thank you" Jack said, with a small, sad smile. Suddenly, Delia dropped the plate, into the sink, turning round and grabbing Jack in a hug.

Luckily, Jack was ready, as he had an idea that she would do this. Ash's mother always was emotional.

"Hey, it's okay, I won't be gone forever" he said, his voice breaking slightly. He never knew saying good bye could be this hard.

Delia let go of him and looked at him with a smile, tears in her eyes. "I know" she said. "But it's difficult saying goodbye, your like another son to me".

Ash re-entered the room to hear his mother's last sentence. His head down, he walked up to them both. He was quickly enveloped in a hug.

"We'll be fine, right Ash?" Delia said, after letting go of the boys.

Ash looked up and smiled slightly. "Yeah, you go on and have your adventure Jack, we'll be rooting for you. I wanna see some cool Dragon-type Pokemon that you bring back!" he said with a smile, which got bigger towards the end of his sentence.

Jack smiled down at him and ruffled his hair, drawing an indignant squawk from Ash.

They moved to the living room and sat down. A battle was being shown on the TV. It was a Rhydon verses a Gyarados.

"I bet the Gyarados wins!" said Jack, his love of Dragon-type or Dragon-Potential Pokemon shining through.

"Your on! Rhydon will win, it has the type advantage" replied Ash, with a wide grin, knowing how to annoy Jack.

Jack hummed with a frown. Ash was partly correct, Rhydon, the Drill Pokemon, is a Ground/Rock dual-type and Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokemon, is a Water/Flying dual-type. Both Pokemon had their advantages, Rock-type moves being super-effective against Flying-types and Water-type moves being super-effective against Ground and Rock-types.

While Rhydon has Rock type moves 2x effective against Gyarados, Ground-type moves shouldn't effect Gyarados at all, due to it's Flying-type nature. However, its well known that Gyarados cannot fly. So would Ground type moves effect it?

Unfortunately for Rhydon, Gyarados's Water-type moves are 4x effective against it, due to its Ground/Rock dual type.

"_This should be an interesting match" _Jack thought, with a slight smile.

- On the TV -

Announcer: So, Reggie brings out his final Pokemon, Rhydon. While Corey brings out his final Pokemon Gyarados. This should be an interesting match up!

Reggie: Here we go Rhydon, start things off with a Take-Down attack!

With a roar, Rhydon charges at the Gyarados, who is awaiting it's trainer's decision. It didn't have to wait too long.

Corey: Gyarados, dodge! Then use Water Gun!

- Back to the Ketchum residence -

Jack hummed. "Good choice with the Water attack, as Rhydon has a massive weakness to Water".

Ash frowned slightly, he forgot about that.

- Back to the battle -

Rhydon roared as it was hit with the Water Gun attack and was blasted back a few feet.

Announcer: Ooooh! Rhydon just took a direct hit from Gyarados's Water Gun attack, he doesn't look too roughed up though! What will Reggie's response be?

Reggie: Rhydon! Are you okay buddy?

Rhydon roared again in reply, eager to begin battling again.

Reggie: Okay Rhydon, stand up and use Rock Throw!

Rhydon stood on it's hind legs and a large rock formed in its grasp. Suddenly, it shot at Gyarados with alarming speed. Gyarados roared loudly as it took the hit and fell to the floor.

Corey: Gyarados! No! Can you get up?

As quickly as it went down, Gyarados got right back up again.

Announcer: I don't believe it! Gyarados took an obviously strong Rock Throw and shook it off as if it was a pebble! These Pokemon are clearly very strong!

Corey: It will take a lot more than that to take down my Gyarados! Now then, Gyarados, use Surf!

Gyarados launched a massive Surf attack at Rhydon. As the tidal wave approached Reggie's Rhydon, he knew he had to act fast to save his Rhydon from the devastating attack.

Reggie: Rhydon! Use Dig to escape the Surf!

Rhydon quickly dug underground. Corey realised Reggie's mistake and smirked. Reggie saw his opponent's smirk and looked worried.

- At the Ketchum residence -

Jack winced, then spoke up, "Ash, can you tell me what Reggie's mistake was?".

Ash looked confused, then saw the water from the Surf attack enter the hole from Rhydon's Dig attack.

"Rhydon is trapped now and has no-where to hide from the water, to make it worse the field is flooded". Jack nodded.

"This looks bad for Rhydon". Ash agreed.

- On the TV -

Announcer: Oh dear! What an upset! Reggie's Rhydon is now trapped and that water is homing in on Rhydon!

Reggie shouted, worriedly, "Rhydon! Dig up quickly!"

Rhydon heard and dug up.

Straight into the Surf attack.

As the wave passed overhead, Rhydon jumped out of the hole, soaking wet and wincing. Gyarados let out a loud roar.

Announcer: It looks like this is it, Gyarados as sustained only minor damage, while Rhydon is in big trouble, can Reggie turn this around or will Corey end this battle now?

Corey: Okay Gyarados, launch a Twister at Rhydon, then charge up a Hyper Beam!

Announcer: Looks like Corey is going for the big finish! How will Reggie get out of this one?

Reggie: Rhydon stand your ground and use Harden before the Twister hits!

As Rhydon used Harden, he was buffeted by Gyarados's Twister.

Reggie: Rhydon! Are you okay?

Rhydon roared, but it was noticeably quieter than before.

Reggie: Rhydon, charge at Gyarados with Take-Down!

Unfortunately, Rhydon had taken a lot of damage from the Surf attack and was running a lot slower than before.

Corey: Wait for it Gyarados! Let him get closer! You have one shot! Ready… NOW! FIRE HYPER BEAM!

Reggie: Rhydon! Dodge it!

Gyarados launched a massive Hyper Beam attack at Rhydon, who was too close to dodge.

BOOM! The shock-wave rocked the stadium, throwing dust and smoke everywhere.

As the smoke cleared, Rhydon was lying on the floor, knocked out. While Gyarados was roaring in victory.

Announcer: Wow! Did you see the power of Gyarados's Hyper Beam attack? That was incredible! It looks like Rhydon is out for the count!

The referee lifted a red flag, signalling Corey's victory.

Announcer: And there you have it! Corey and his Gyarados have won the match!

- Back at the Ketchum residence -

Jack smirked at Gyarados's victory. He knew who was going to come out on top. It's not all about type advantages, but it certainly helps if you have one.

"Awww, Rhydon lost" said Ash, with a frown.

"You can't say you didn't see it coming, after that Surf attack though" Jack replied.

"True".

"Well, I think its time for me to be heading home, it's 9pm and I have a Pokemon journey to begin tomorrow" Jack stated.

Ash frowned with a sad look, but immediately looked up and smiled when he saw Jack looking at him.

"Bye Jack" said Delia, at the front door. "Make sure you drop by tomorrow after you get your Pokemon!"

"I will Mrs. Ketchum, goodbye, bye Ash!" Jack replied, walking down the road.

"See you tomorrow Jack!" Ash shouted.

As they closed the door, Delia hugged Ash.

"Cheer up Ash and be happy for Jack, he's starting his dream tomorrow, in a few years, you will too" she said.

"I know mum, I'll be sad to see him go" Ash replied, sadly.

"Me too, honey, me too".

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><p><strong>AN: **I will probably reserve this section for replies to reviews.

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	2. The Dawn of a Dragon Master's Journey

Hello and welcome to the second chapter of Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins!

What did you all think of the first chapter? Mainly a bit of background into the relationship between my OC and Ash.

Thanks once again to my un-official beta, my younger brother.

Please note: Jack and Ash are 10 and 8 years old respectively, there will be no romance, as of yet, obviously, as they are too young.

Also, this is certainly **not** a slash fic.

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's. **

**If I did own Pokemon, Ash would have been a lot smarter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Dawn of a Dragon Master's Journey!<strong>

Monday morning dawned and Jack was awake, bright and early the next morning and was ready by 9am. After having breakfast, getting dressed and brushing his teeth, he left the house.

He had prepared everything he needed the night before, which included; 4 sets of spare clothes, a small tent, a sleeping bag and some food & water for him and his new Pokemon_. _It was all stored in a light-blue backpack with a sticker of a Dragonite on it.

With a quick, "Goodbye!", "Have fun, honey!" and "Good luck son!", Jack left his house.

After walking down the road, he came to a large, white-walled building known as Professor Oak's Lab. He knocked on the door and an aide immediately opened it.

Upon entering the building, he saw bright lights shining on the ceiling, the light reflecting off of the recently polished, tiled floor. He could hear some machines humming, in a back room somewhere.

He walked forwards and saw Professor Oak, chatting with another 10 year old boy from Pallet Town called Simon. After greeting them both, they got down to business.

"Now, as you both know, today is the day you both get your new Pokemon" said Oak, in his best formal voice. Jack could see the smile on his face.

"Yes Professor" nodded Simon, who was stood next to him, with a nervous smile.

In truth, Jack felt nervous himself, not for being with Professor Oak, he'd seen and spoke to the man many times as the professor was very sociable. Jack had been very interested in reading up on the region he was travelling to, and Professor Oak had been eager to share his knowledge of Johto. Jack had also learnt almost everything he knew about Kanto from his frequent conversations with Professor Oak.

Jack was nervous because of the massive amount trust Professor Oak was putting in him. These research papers he had talked about seemed important, he didn't want to mess anything up for his un-official mentor.

"Now then, I have three Pokemon for you to pick from here Simon" said Oak, winking at Jack. Jack smiled, Oak had said he had a surprise for him.

Jack had told Professor Oak before about wanting to become a Dragon Master, like Lance, in one of their many conversations. Jack couldn't help but wonder what this surprise could be though.

Simon smiled and took a step forward. Oak then spoke.

"On the left, we have the Grass-type starter Pokemon, Bulbasaur."

"In the middle, we have the Water-type starter Pokemon, Squirtle."

"Finally, on the right, we have the Fire-type starter Pokemon, Charmander."

Jack looked worried for a second, as Simon glanced at Charmander's Pokeball for a second time. Then he looked at the middle Pokemon, Squirtle, then back up at the professor.

"I'd like Squirtle, the Water-type Pokemon please Professor Oak" he stated.

Oak hummed at the choice, while Jack internally sighed in relief, he was glad he didn't pick Charmander, as then he wouldn't get him.

Oak picked up Squirtle's Pokeball and gave it to Simon, along with 6 other Pokeballs and a Pokedex.

"Here are 6 Pokeballs and your personal Pokedex. To catch a Pokemon, you must throw a Pokeball at it. But be careful, if it's healthy, it's likely not to be caught, weaken any Pokemon before attempting to capture it" said Oak.

Simon nodded at the advice, Jack did too. He knew it already, but it seemed the polite thing to do.

"That Pokedex is assigned to you and you only Simon, it is your identification as a Pokemon Trainer as well, so be careful not to lose it".

"I won't lose it Professor, thank you for all of your help!" said Simon with a smile. He then turned around and walked out of the Lab.

Oak then turned to Jack.

"Good to see you again Jack and thank you for waiting. Now then, I know you want a Charmander, but I've been saving someone very special for you. I know you will like him".

Interested, Jack followed the Professor into a back room. As they entered he saw filing cabinets lining the walls and a table in the centre of the room. He was shocked to see what appeared to be broken egg shell pieces in the middle of the table.

"Professor, did an egg hatch recently? What kind of Pokemon was it?" asked Jack, curiously.

Oak nodded, with a mysterious smile and walked over to a pile of hay near the fireplace, at the back of the room. He picked up something from within the pile of hay and turned around, facing Jack.

Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a Charmander lying, fast asleep in Oak's arms. But this wasn't any ordinary Charmander. This Charmander had an amazing charcoal grey coat, instead of the normal orange one.

Jack looked up at Oak in awe, "Is that a shiny Charmander?".

Oak nodded, with a smile. "A woman named Liza gave me this egg a few months ago. She lives in Charific Valley, in the Johto Region. She said it was from her own partner Charizard, called Charla. I was shocked and I knew I had to give it to you. After all, you are running these research papers to Professor Elm in Johto".

"This Charmander is only 5 days old, so treat him carefully, he hasn't even been inside a Pokeball yet".

"I'd like to speak to him before he becomes my Pokemon, is that okay, Professor?" asked Jack. Oak beamed at him with a bright smile.

"Of course Jack, I'm glad to see your going to treat your Pokemon right". Oak placed the Charmander down on the table. The table was made out of metal and so it was cold. This woke the Charmander up, it lifted it's head and looked around. It's eyes, a deep blue, the same shade as Jacks', settled on him.

Jack walked up to the Charmander, who looked at him curiously.

"Hello there Charmander, I want to be a Dragon Type Pokemon Master. Your final evolution is a Charizard, which is a Dragon Potential Pokemon and I'd like to work together with you and for you to join me on my journey. What do you think?" said Jack, as he leaned on the table getting closer to the Charmander.

The, as yet, un-named Charmander looked into Jack's eyes and nodded, standing up.

"That's great!" exclaimed Jack. He then held out his hand to the Charmander. Charmander looked at his hand and shouted "Char!" and jumped at Jack.

Jack quickly wrapped his arms around the happy Charmander, avoiding the flaming tail.

"Thank you Charmander" Jack whispered. "This is my first step on the road to becoming a Dragon Pokemon Master, thank you".

He placed Charmander down and asked if he'd like to be caught now. Charmander nodded his head in acceptance. Oak tapped Jack on the shoulder and handed him 6 Pokeballs.

"One for Charmander" he said. "Thank you" Jack replied, before turning to Charmander. "Ready Charmander?".

"Char, Char, Charmander!" was what he got in reply. Jack smiled then lifted a Pokeball and Charmander lent forward and clicked the button with it's paw.

Immediately, the red and white ball opened and Charmander was sucked in with a "Char!". The ball didn't even shake.

Jack turned to Oak with a smile. "Thank you, Professor Oak, may I gave him a nickname?".

"Sure thing Jack" was the reply he got.

"Come on out, Charmander" Jack said. He was rewarded with a flash a white light and a "Char!".

"I'd like to give you a nickname, is that okay Charmander?". Charmander nodded, with an interested look, wondering what his new master and hopefully friend would name him.

"Hmm… Flare, yeah, I think I'll call you Flare. Is that okay?". The newly dubbed, Flare, shouted, "Char!" and jumped up and down on the table in acceptance of his new name. Oak smiled.

"Well, now that's done. He's your Pokedex Jack" he handed Jack a Pokedex. "Your parents set up a _Pokédollar _account for you and it's stored on this Pokedex, your account was opened with 5000 Pokédollars and will be topped up every month".

"Thanks Professor, that's great" Jack replied. He scanned his new Charmander, Flare.

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><p><em><strong>Charmander - The Lizard Pokemon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 2'00"**_

_**Weight: 18.7 lbs**_

_**Ability: Blaze - When Charmander's health is below 1/3rd, Fire-type moves increase by 50%.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Scratch  
><strong>__**Growl  
>Metal Claw (Egg Move)<strong>_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Ember  
><strong>__**Smokescreen  
><strong>__**Fire Punch  
><strong>__**Fury Cutter  
><strong>__**Thunder Punch  
><strong>__**Snore  
><strong>__**Swift  
><strong>__**Heat Wave  
><strong>__**Mud-slap**_

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><p>Jack and Oak were shocked seeing the Egg Move; Metal Claw.<p>

"Shame that won't help me in the Johto Region's first Gym. Brock would have had a heart attack" Jack said, laughing. Oak chuckled.

"Indeed, oh, and before I forget, here Jack" he said. He reached into his lab coat, and pulled out a ferry ticket. Jack's eyes lit up.

"Thank you Professor" Jack said, accepting the ticket from Professor Oak.

"My pleasure Jack" replied Oak, with a chuckle. He could see that Jack really wanted to go the Johto region.

"Now then, shall we head to my office and pick up those papers?" Oak asked with a smile.

"Lead the way" Jack replied, he then returned Flare, who shouted, "Char!" before being sucked back into the Pokeball, which he placed on his Pokeball belt.

Jack followed Oak out of the back room, through the main lab and into his office. After opening a draw, Oak pulled out a folder, which contained a plastic wallet filled with about 30 papers.

"Here you go Jack" Oak said, passing the papers to him, "This is the latest information on Eevee and their evolutions that Professor Elm asked to see" Oak stated with a smile.

Jack put the folder in his backpack, which was starting to look a little full.

"Looks like I'm not getting much else in there" Jack said. "Indeed" Oak chuckled.

"Well, Professor, if that's everything, I'll be going. I've got to head over to see Ash before the boat leaves at 1".

"Okay then Jack. Good luck on your adventure, I wish you all the best". "Thank you Professor".

Oak followed Jack out of his office and said goodbye to him at the laboratory door.

_"Well, this is it, I've got my first Pokemon and I'm starting on my journey. Just one more thing to do now" _Jack thought, with a sad smile.

Ash was up early that morning, which was surprising considering this is Ash Ketchum we're talking about. But his best friend was leaving him today, so he had to be up early to see him off.

It was 11:30am when the doorbell rang at the Ketchum residence.

Jack heard a faint, "Come in, its open", from Mrs. Ketchum.

_"Making lunch, no doubt" _he thought.

As he walked in, the smell of bacon hit him, bringing a smile to his face.

_"I wonder if Ash has woken up yet, if he hasn't, he will when he smells that"._

Surprisingly, he found Ash at the dinning table. As he walked through the kitchen door, he put a mock-shocked look on his face.

"Ash Ketchum, up before 12am? Someone wake me, I must be dreaming" he said with a chuckle.

Delia laughed and Ash pouted.

"I'm not _that _bad" Ash replied. "Sure you're not" was Jack's reply.

After they finished lunch. They went and sat in the Living room.

"Come on then, don't leave us waiting any longer, show us your Pokemon" said Delia, with a smile on her face.

Ash nodded vigorously. He wanted to see his friend's new Pokemon.

"Okay" Jack relented with a slight smile, "Come on out, Flare". That was all Ash needed to hear, he knew his friend had gotten his Charmander. His smiling face turned into one of shock as well as Delia's when he saw what came out of the Pokeball.

"Char!" shouted the excited Pokemon. "Meet Flare, my Charmander". The shiny Pokemon looked around, saw Jack and jumped up and down, shouting "Char! Char!". Then he saw Ash and Delia's shocked faces and immediately ran into Jack's arms and tried to hide.

Jack laughed. "Hey now Flare, no need to hide. These are my friends, Ash and his mother, Delia". He could tell his words calmed his new friend. Charmander slowly lifted his head and looked at Ash, then at Delia and then back to Jack. Jack smiled at him.

"Wow, that's amazing, but why is he not orange?" Said Ash. Jack smiled, Ash had a lot to learn.

"There are many mysteries in the world of Pokemon, Ash. Flare's odd colouring is just another mystery. Different coloured Pokemon are often referred to as 'Shiny' Pokemon".

Delia finally snapped out of her stupor, "AWWWW! He's sooo cute! Where did the Professor get him from?" Jack and Ash sweat-dropped. That was so like her to say something like that.

"Flare was given to Professor Oak from Liza, who lives in Charific Valley, that's in Johto. The egg came from Liza's own Charizard, Charla. Professor Oak was saving this little guy for me, since he hatched, 5 days ago" said Jack.

"Well my ferry arrives in an hour, I can't be late as it's a one-time trip, Professor Oak called in a favour" said Jack. Delia smiled sadly, while Ash looked down.

Jack put Charmander on the floor and turned to Ash, as Delia walked out of the room. "Listen Ash, yes I'll be gone for a while, but I'll call when I can and I won't be gone forever, but please understand, this is my time to begin my dream, to be a Dragon Master" said Jack, his voice thick with emotion.

Ash looked up and smiled sadly, "I know, I just feel like your going to be gone forever, two years is a long time".

"Ash, I was planning on coming back after 1 year for a few weeks and then going back to Johto. After competing in the Johto league, I'll come back and travel Kanto with you. How does that sound?" asked Jack, with a smile.

Ash looked up, delighted. He'd always hoped to travel with Jack, but to hear him confirm it, he was delighted.

"That would be great! I'm definitely going to become a Pokemon Master with you to help me!" Ash stated with a wide grin.

"Don't let Gary push you around, okay? You're going to be a good trainer, when it's your time, don't forget that" Jack reminded Ash. Ash nodded.

Delia back into the room and pulled them both into a hug, before giving Jack a piece of paper. "Here's the house phone number" Delia said, with a smile.

Jack turned towards the door. "Remember to call often and I hope you've packed enough clean you-know-whats!" Delia said, as Jack was leaving the house. Ash looked up, embarrassed, but with a grin. He found it funny when his mum embarrassed someone else.

Jack blushed slightly, before grinning. "Yes, I will and I have! I'll speak to you once I'm in Johto!", and with that, he was off. Ash was hugging Delia with tears in his eyes as the door to the Ketchum residence closed.

Jack walked down to the south of Pallet, towards the tree he and Ash had claimed. He sat down, pulled off his backpack and called out Flare. Flare jumped out with a "Char!" and looked around, before sitting down, next to Jack.

It was 12:45. The ferry was due in 15 minutes. In the distance he heard a horn, he looked up and sure enough, there was a small looking, white ferry in the distance. Jack looked at Flare.

"Well, here we go Flare, take a good long look at Pallet Town, we won't be back here for a whole year" he said, smiling sadly as he looked around. "Char, Char, Char", Flare spoke, trying to cheer Jack up. The horn sounded again. 12:50.

"Are you ready to begin our adventure Flare?" he asked his Charmander. "Char! Charmander!" was the reply he got. "Me too buddy, me too".

As the ferry docked in the Pallet bay, a ramp was lowered. A horn bleared, then a voice sounded across the ferry. "We will be docking in Pallet Town for 15 minutes".

Jack looked at Flare. "Ready to go?" he asked. Flare nodded. Jack pulled out Flare's Pokeball and recalled him.

Jack looked up to see an old man waving at him from the top of the ramp. Jack got up, picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

As he got near the top of the ramp, he heard, "All right there lad, are you Jack Starburn?". Jack nodded. "That would be me, sir. Who are you?".

The old man chuckled, then held out his hand, "Right, should'a introduced m'self sooner, names James Arch, Captain James Arch". Jack nodded, shaking the captain's hand.

"Nice to meet you sir". The old captain chuckled again, "Follow me then". He walked off the ramp and onto the ferry, Jack followed.

The ferry seemed very normal, wooden deck, white walls and hull. Jack had a few questions for the captain.

"How many passengers do you have on board?" he asked.

"We have a couple of researchers on board from Cinnabar, heading to Johto as well as some people heading back to Johto from their holidays. Including you, me and my 8 crew mates, we have 22 people on-board" Captain James said, after thinking about it for a couple of seconds.

"I see" Jack replied, looking round, he could see a couple sitting on a bench near the front of the ferry.

"How long until we reach New Bark Town?" he asked. The old captain chuckled again.

"Not long lad, no storms are forecast, so with any luck, we'll be there for dinner".

The old captain turned towards the cabin, before looking over his shoulder and saying, "About 6 hours sailing ahead of us, lad".

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Flamewing98: Thank you for leaving a review and I'm sure this chapter has answered your comment :)

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

**B/N:**

If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams.

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	3. Journey to Johto

Hi everyone and welcome back to the third chapter of Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins!

Our hero is journeying to Johto in this chapter, we hope you enjoy it.

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Journey to Johto!<strong>

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**"I see" Jack replied, looking round, he could see a couple sitting on a bench near the front of the ferry.**

**"How long until we reach New Bark Town?" he asked. The old captain chuckled again.**

**"Not long lad, no storms are forecast, so with any luck, we'll be there for dinner".**

**The old captain turned towards the cabin, before looking over his shoulder and saying, "About 6 hours sailing ahead of us, lad".**

* * *

><p>After about 15 minutes a horn bleared and the same voice from earlier was heard, "The ferry to New Bark Town in the Johto Region will be leaving in 5 minutes, all passengers please re-board the ferry, thank you".<p>

Jack called out Flare, who looked around and saw they were on the ferry. Jack went and sat down on one of the benches near the front of the ferry, opposite the couple.

The woman looked at Jack, then at Flare. She quickly turned to the man and whispered in his ear. The man looked at Flare, with wide eyes and then at Jack.

"Hi there, interesting looking Charmander you have there, my names John and this is Caroline. We're holiday makers from Johto, what's your name?" he asked, smiling.

"Hi, my names Jack. I'm a new Pokemon trainer from Pallet Town. This my partner, Flare" Jack replied. The couple asked if they could get a better look at Flare, who was hiding behind Jack's backpack, on the bench.

Jack sensed no malicious intent from them, so nodded and said yes. He turned to Flare, "Are you okay with that?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow. Flare looked at Jack and smiled.

As Jack and the couple got talking, he found out they were from New Bark Town and we're neighbours with Professor Elm, they smiled when they found out Jack was delivering papers to Professor Elm from Professor Oak.

After a few hours, the sky turned noticeably darker. They could see land in the distance. Of course, Kanto and Johto are connected and the continent was always on their right, but due to rough sea currents, they had to go further out than normal.

The horn went off again and the voice on the loud speaker said, "We are approaching New Bark Town, we are 10 minutes from shore. Please do not attempt to leave the boat until we are finished docking, thank you".

Jack recalled Flare, as he could begin to see houses as well as a large windmill.

The ferry docked on the eastern shore of New Bark Town. As the ramp was lowered, Jack could see a man with short, spiky brown hair and glasses, he wore a white, lab coat and a green shirt with brown trousers.

"Hello there! You must be Jack Starburn!" he shouted, as Jack started walking down the ramp.

"Hi there, are you Professor Elm? How did you know who I was?" Jack asked, curious. Professor Elm simply laughed.

"Yes, I'm Professor Elm, Professor Oak sent a picture of you to me via e-mail, so I could identify you. I must admit, I'm eager to get my hands on those important research papers you came with. So why don't we head over to my lab?".

"Sure Professor" replied Jack.

Professor Elm's lab looked a lot different from Professor Oak's, while Professor Oak's lab was large and had white walls, Professor Elm's lab looked more like a large house, converted into a lab.

As they reached the lab, one of Elm's aides opened the door, with a "Welcome back, Professor". Professor Elm smiled at the aide.

They entered the lab, and immediately you could tell this wasn't a normal house, for starters, it had the same blue tile floor as Oak's lab, and white walls. It also had all kinds of machines humming away against the walls.

There was even what appeared to be a Pokemon healing machine at the back of the room.

"Ah, the Pokemon Healing Station has caught your eye I see, yes, we had to persuade the Nurse Joy from Cherrygrove City for months, before she gave us the blueprints for this baby" he said, patting the machine. Jack looked at the machine and back to the Professor.

"May I heal my Charmander? I know I haven't battled with him yet, but I want him in tip-top shape for when I do" Jack asked. Elm nodded. It wasn't an unreasonable request.

Professor Elm put Jack's Pokeball in the machine and started it up, the machine glowed, brightly and then, after 15 seconds and a loud whirring noise, the machine stopped glowing and Elm took out Charmander's Pokeball.

"Here you go Jack" passing the Pokeball to Jack. "I must admit, I'm surprised, I thought you'd want to start off with a Johto starter Pokemon, seeing as your staying in Johto" Elm said.

"It's my dream to become a Dragon Master and since none of the Johto starters become Dragon-type Pokemon, as silly as it sounds. I know I can't get a full team of Dragon Pokemon from just 1 region, but I always wanted to start with Charmander" replied Jack, while Professor Elm nodded, it made sense.

"Come on out, Flare!" Jack said, releasing Flare from it's Pokeball. "Char!".

Professor Elm's eyes grew huge as he saw the charcoal grey coating that Flare had.

"You have a shiny Charmander?" he queried, looking every bit as shocked as he felt. Jack nodded.

"Truly incredible" whispered Professor Elm, with an awed look. Jack laughed internally, thinking that's how he looked when Professor Oak introduced him to Flare.

Jack set his backpack on the table and pulled out a Blue folder, containing the research papers for Professor Elm on Eevee and it's evolutions. Professor Elm gasped, suddenly remembering the whole reason he was here.

"I almost forgot about those" the Professor said. In the all the excitement of seeing a shiny Charmander, he'd forgotten about the research papers.

Jack passed the folder to Professor Elm, who immediately took the folder with a nod and a smile in thanks, and left the room.

As Professor Elm came back into the room, he asked Jack on where he was planning to go first.

Jack shocked him with his reply, "I'd like to head north through Routes 29 & 46, Dark Cave and Route 45 to Blackthorn City".

"Well, Jack, it's seems like you've done your homework, I'm guessing you want to get your hands on a Dragon Pokemon?" Professor Elm asked.

"Yes, sir, I'd love to, maybe I could meet Clair the gym leader too". Elm nodded. "That would be wise, it's well known that Clair and Lance are Dragon-type Pokemon experts in this region". Jack nodded.

"I'm sure you'll want the Pokedex upgrade for this region, am I correct?" Professor Elm asked Jack, who nodded, it would certainly be helpful.

"Unfortunately, the machine we use to upgrade the Pokedex for this region is undergoing maintenance, but there's a storage facility, just north of Cherrygrove City which contains a back-up machine, which, if you can collect for me, means I can upgrade your Pokedex" said Professor Elm.

"I can do that, it will give me a chance to see some Johto Pokemon" said Jack, excitedly. Elm nodded.

"So, from here, go west, through Route 29 to Cherrygrove City, then north to Route 30 and Route 31, the house is located on a hill in Route 31" said Professor Elm, giving the directions to Jack.

Jack nodded, "Thanks for the directions, I'll leave now". Elm nodded, with a smile.

Jack turned and headed to the lab door. Suddenly, an aide jumped out from behind a filing cabinet.

"Hi there, I'm one of the Professor's aides, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, if your going to Route 31, there will be lots of wild Pokemon, take these Potions to help heal your Charmander, please take them as a thank you gift for helping out the Professor" he said, handing Jack 5 potions.

Jack smiled and took the offered potions, "Thanks a lot" he replied.

He then left the Professor's lab. Jack turned and began to walk West, towards Route 29.

Flare, who had been at his side since they left the Professor's lab, saw the tall grass of Route 29 and could see various Pokemon running round, with a feral look in their eyes. Flare looked at Jack, who smiled back.

"This is where our journey really begins. Our first wild battles and trainer battles are on this route, are you ready Flare?" he asked. Flare nodded, the flame on his tail burning brightly.

"Great!" Jack said, with a smile.

As they began walking through Route 29, a Sentret jumped off a tree branch and landed in front of them, staring at Flare. Flare clearly took this as a challenge, so he leapt in front of Jack, waiting for a command.

"Cool, a Sentret, I've read about these Pokemon, unfortunately the Pokedex doesn't recognise it, as I don't have the Johto region upgrade. I think it's a normal type, so we'll have to do our best, okay Flare?"

"Char! Charmander!". The Sentret jumped at Flare and tried to use Scratch, bringing it's paw to Flare's face.

"Flare! Dodge!" shouted Jack. Flare jumped backwards, avoiding the Scratch attack.

"Flare! Show it your Scratch attack!" Flare jumped at Sentret, who tried to dodge, but Flare caught it's tail with the Scratch attack.

Sentret winced in pain, before it curled into a ball and started to glow. Jack realised it was using Defence Curl.

"Flare, we've got it on the defensive, use your Metal Claw attack!" Jack ordered. Flare ran forwards to the Sentret, claws glowing, before bringing it's claw down diagonally across the wild Pokemon.

The wild Sentret squeaked in pain before curling up again. Jack knew it was nearly over.

"Use Scratch one more time Flare!". Flare scratched at the Sentret, which uncurled and fell backwards, knocked out.

"Yes!" Jack shouted. "We won!". Flare pumped a paw to the sky, in a victory pose, while Jack laughed and copied him.

After walking a bit further and encountering a few more Pokemon, including 2 more Sentrets, a Pidgey and even a Rattata, which Flare easily dealt with, Jack noticed flames around Flare's mouth, they were almost dribbling out the sides of his mouth. Jack looked at his Pokedex for more information.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Charmander - The Lizard Pokemon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 2'02"**_

_**Weight: 18.9 lbs**_

_**Ability: Blaze - When Charmander's health is below 1/3rd, Fire-type moves increase by 50%.**_

_**New Move Learnt: Ember**_

_**Ember is a basic Fire-type attack. The foe is attacked with small flames. The target may also be left with a burn.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Scratch  
>Growl<br>_**Metal Claw (Egg Move)**_  
>Ember<br>**_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Smokescreen  
>Fire Punch<br>Fury Cutter  
>Thunder Punch<br>Snore  
>Swift<br>Heat Wave  
>Mud-Slap<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Hey Flare?". Flare stopped walking and looked up at Jack.<p>

"I think your trying to learn Ember" Jack said with a grin. Flare grinned, then blew out. A small cone of fire shot out of his mouth, before dissipating a few feet in front of him.

"That's great! You learnt the Ember attack! Good job!" Jack congratulated him. Flare smiled, before hugging Jack's leg in celebration.

Sometime further into the Route, a Pidgey flew at Flare from behind, hitting him with a Tackle attack. Flare yelped, falling forwards, while the Pidgey flew on, landing a few feet ahead of them.

Jack jumped up and then looked at Flare, lying on the floor.

"Are you okay?" he panicked. This could be bad. Luckily, Flare didn't look too roughed up.

Flare jumped up, growling at the offending Pidgey.

Jack joined in, "Hey! That was a cheap shot Pidgey! Get him Flare! Use Growl!" Jack ordered, with a frown.

Flare growled even louder than before at Pidgey, who looked shocked and rooted to the spot in fear. Jack nodded.

"Now Flare, use Ember!". Flare growled at Pidgey before unleashing a small torrent of flames towards Pidgey, who was still rooted to the spot, due to Flare's Growl attack.

The flames hit Pidgey, who yelped in pain.

"Flare, get in close and finish this with Metal Claw!". Flare ran forward and jumped at Pidgey with glowing claws, before slashing at the Bird Pokemon, who tried to dodge, but stood no chance.

The Pidgey fell sideways, charred and knocked out.

"Great job Flare!" said Jack. Flare smiled with a paw to the sky.

Finally, after a few more Pokemon battles, which, of course Flare won, Jack and Flare had reached Cherrygrove City. Nothing else notable happened when walking through the city.

Unless you count an old man jumping out from behind a tree and giving him a recommendation to get new trainers. _"What a strange man"_ Jack thought, shaking his head. Jack also took Flare to the Cherrygrove City Pokemon Centre.

Nurse Joy had been shocked to see a Charmander in Johto, especially a uniquely coloured one, even more shocked seeing the state of the poor thing, bruised and scratched. She immediately whisked him behind the counter and into the bed, she then turned to Jack.

"Don't worry young man, your Charmander will be fine in about fifteen minutes or so, I recommend checking out the town while your waiting. You should also go to the PokeMart and stock up on Potions and an Antidote or two, for the road ahead" she said, with a smile.

After following Nurse Joy's advice and checking out the town, especially the PokeMart, Jack returned to the Pokemon Centre to see Flare full of energy and ready to go.

"Here you go young man, your Charmander is as good as new" Nurse Joy said kindly, handing Jack Flare and his Pokeball. Flare jumped into Jack's arms, chatting happily, "Char! Char! Char!".

"Its good to see you too Flare" replied Jack with a smile. Jack then turned to Nurse Joy.

"I'd also like to sign up for the Johto League, however I'm planning on taking two years to complete it, should I sign up now, or in a years time?" he asked. Nurse Joy frowned in concentration.

"I'd recommend giving me your information now, and coming back here in a year to sign up, after all, you'll be competing for gym badges this year, won't you?" she asked in return. Jack nodded.

"Okay then young man, pass me your Pokedex and we'll get you signed up and I'll put a note in the system" she said. Jack nodded, passing Nurse Joy his Pokedex.

She turned to a computer, which lit up with his picture, then said, "Jack Starburn, of Pallet Town. Welcome to the Johto League". Nurse Joy passed Jack his Pokedex. "Congratulations Jack, your now fully qualified for the Johto League".

"I've also put a note at the bottom saying you'll be competing in next years tournament, instead of this years one" she added. Jack nodded, "That's great, thanks Nurse Joy" he said, with a smile. He turned to leave the Pokemon Centre.

"Time to go to Route 30, pal" Jack said to Flare, as they walked out of Cherrygrove City. Flare nodded seriously.

After battling a surprising number of Caterpies and even a Metapod, Jack came across two trainers battling, unfortunately their battle was blocking the path through to Route 31.

Staying to watch a bit of the battle, he saw one trainer had a Pidgey, while the other had a Rattata. Jack walked away as he heard the boy with the Pidgey shout, "Yes, I win!".

Heading past the trees to the right of the battling trainers, Jack could see a small house in the distance.

_"That must be the storage house that Professor Elm was talking about"_ he thought.

Battling a few more Pokemon with Flare, he was surprised, he could almost _feel _Flare getting stronger. He was glad, as the roads ahead would only get more perilous.

As he reached the house, he opened the door with the key Professor Elm gave him. Looking around, he saw multiple chests of drawers, a lot of which had sheets of cloth covering them. After a small amount of time searching, Jack found the small, hand-held machine in a drawer, near the back of the room. With his task complete, Jack locked the door and left the house, to begin the trip back to Professor Elm's lab.

Jack took a moment to look around at the scenery of Route 30. To his left was a large pond, full of Poliwag and even it's evolution, Poliwhirl. Smiling to himself, Jack began to walk south, back towards Cherrygrove City. Passing by the two trainers from before, Jack noticed they had finished their battle, Pidgey flying around it's trainer in victory, while the other trainer was comforting his fallen Rattata. Shrugging to himself, he continued on, Flare at his side, ready and raring to battle.

Some time later, Jack reached Cherrygrove City again. This time however, he chose to forgo the Pokemon Centre. Flare seemed fine, which was surprising, considering the number of battles he'd been in.

Jack had used a number of potions to keep Flare healthy, during their time in Route 30, so he continued on to Route 29. Jack managed to cross Route 29 rather quickly, through the use of jumping a number of ledges which allowed him to exit the route in record time.

Finally, he reached New Bark Town, he noticed the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, so he hurried over to Professor Elm's Lab.

Once inside, he noticed Professor Elm sat down at his desk, on the far side of the room, engrossed in the papers on Eevee and it's evolutions from Professor Oak. As Jack walked over to see him, Professor Elm looked up and smiled.

"I see you're back, you made good time" he said. Jack nodded. Wordlessly, he handed over the small machine, that he'd been asked to collect.

"Ah, excellent. Thank you, very much." said Professor Elm gratefully. After fiddling with the machine for a minute or two, it booted up. Professor Elm asked for Jack's Pokedex.

Handing it to him, Professor Elm hooked it up to the machine, and a robotic voice from the Pokedex said, "Johto Region Pokedex Information Downloading… 1%… 13%… 34%… 67%… 86%… 99%… Complete!".

Professor Elm smiled. Unhooking the Pokedex from the machine, he passed it back to Jack.

"Here you go Jack, thank you for all of your help" he said.

"It was my pleasure Professor" Jack replied, with a smile.

"I'm not sure what I can give you in thanks, but I'm sure I'll think of something, give me a call from time to time, hopefully by then I'll have thought of something" the Professor said, writing the lab's phone number down and handing it to Jack.

"Thank you Professor, I'll be sure to keep in touch" Jack said. "If that's everything then Professor, I think I'll be going. I'll need to get a room at the Pokemon Centre, before heading for Blackthorn City".

"Okay then Jack, take care and remember to call, I'd like to know how your progressing on your journey" Professor Elm said, getting up from his seat, to shake Jack's hand. After they shook hands, Jack turned and left the Lab.

Just as Jack was going to leave New Bark Town and head for Cherrygrove City, a voice called from behind him, "Hey you! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle, with my new Partner, Totodile!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

James95: Thank you for leaving a review :)

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

Also, we have decided that the weekend is when we are going to be uploading chapters of Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins, due to other obligations during the working week. So be sure to check back here every weekend for new chapters of this story! Not to worry though, we already have 8 chapters in total written out, so don't go thinking we've abandoned this!

**B/N:**

I would once again like to say;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	4. A Rival Emerges

Hi everyone and welcome back. It's the start of the weekend!

Tell us what you think of the rival character in this story and what you think his Pokemon will be.

Also, we've decided to stick to the weekend upload schedule, even if we want to upload early.

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: A Rival Emerges!<strong>

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**Just as Jack was going to leave New Bark Town and head for Cherrygrove City, a voice called from behind him, "Hey you! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle, with my new Partner, Totodile!"**

* * *

><p>Jack was surprised, he hadn't expected someone to challenge him. but he couldn't back down from a challenge. Then the final part of the mystery trainer's sentence hit him.<p>

_"__**With my new Partner, Totodile**__"_. He knew, Totodile was the Water-type Johto region starter. A bad match-up for his Fire-type Charmander, but then again, all those battles Flare had been in made Flare a lot stronger.

_"This battle could go either way" _Jack thought. _"Still, it will be__his first trainer battle, so he might not know what he's doing"._

Turning around, Jack said, "Sure, I'll battle you". Jack pulled out Flare's Pokeball and said, "Come on out, Flare!". Flare was released from the Pokeball in a flash of white light.

Flare's eye immediately locked onto Totodile's eyes, then he looked up at Jack, to find him smiling at him. Flare decided he could beat Totodile, regardless of the type-disadvantage.

The mystery trainer saw the Charmander and smirked, thinking this would be easy. He called out, "Totodile, go!" and Totodile ran forwards from his place beside the trainer.

Jack decided he needed information on his opponent, as information is half the battle. "So, before we begin this, my names Jack Starburn, what's yours?" he asked.

The trainer replied, "My name is Luke Striker, and your going down! Go Totodile, use Scratch!". The Totodile sprinted at Flare, white claws on his blue paws, glowing.

Jack reacted quickly, "Flare, jump above Totodile and use Growl". As Totodile reached Flare, he swiped at him, but Flare jumped before he could hit. As Flare was in mid-air, he growled, loudly at Totodile.

Totodile was shocked and stood completely still, petrified from Flare's Growl attack.

Suddenly, smoke started pouring out of Flare's mouth, who was stood behind a confused Totodile, who was wondering where his opponent went.

Jack saw the smoke and remembered looking up a list of attacks Flare would learn, when he last read the Pokedex for Flare. Jack realised this was the beginnings of a Smokescreen attack, which would create a cover of smoke. Jack looked at Flare.

"Flare, use Smokescreen!" he ordered. Flare looked up at Jack, then back at Totodile and released his Smokescreen attack, bathing the surrounding area in smoke.

Luke growled audibly, "Totodile, try to find Charmander and use Scratch!". Totodile was running wildly through the smoke, looking for his opponent, surprisingly, he made contact and Scratched Flare's shoulder.

"Shake it off Flare and use Ember in a widespread attack" said Jack. Flare, nodded, before spraying flames through the smoke and over the field. A loud yelp sounded, as the smoke finally cleared, Totodile was on the ground, covered in burns.

"Try to get up Totodile" Luke called desperately, but Totodile seemed to be to tired. Jack smiled. _"Time for the finishing move"._

"Flare, get in close and use Metal Claw, while Totodile is down, finish this!". Flare ran up to Totodile, who was trying to get on his feet. Totodile finally managed to stand up, only to get knocked back by the glowing claws of Flare.

After getting hit by Metal Claw, Totodile was blasted backwards towards Luke, knocked out. Luke smiled at Totodile, crouching towards him and scooping him up into his arms, "You did your best, partner, that's all I can ask". Luke then recalled his Totodile.

Jack smiled at Flare, "Well done Flare, you won our first trainer battle!". "Char! Char! Charmander!".

Luke stood and walked up to Jack.

"Thanks for the battle Jack, I saw you coming out of Professor Elm's lab and figured you had just gotten your starter Pokemon, like me. It seems I was wrong" he said. Jack smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Nah, I'm over from the Kanto region, but that was my first trainer battle, your Totodile did very well for his first battle" he replied. Luke smiled but shook his head. "I just got back from my parents's house and yes, that was our first battle".

"He did well, I guess, don't worry though, we'll train hard for next time and we'll beat you. Can you promise me a re-match?" he asked. Jack nodded.

"Sure and maybe next time, you'll win".

"Sounds good, well I gotta get going, see ya Jack" said Luke, who ran off, towards Cherrygrove City.

Jack pulled out his Pokedex and scanned Flare.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Charmander - The Lizard Pokemon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 2'02"**_

_**Weight: 18.9 lbs**_

_**Ability: Blaze - When Charmander's health is below 1/3rd, Fire-type moves increase by 50%.**_

_**New Move Learnt: Smokescreen**_

_**Smokescreen is a basic Normal-type attack. The user releases a cloud of smoke, obscuring vision for several seconds.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Scratch  
>Growl<br>_**Metal Claw (Egg Move)**_  
>Ember<br>**__**_**Smokescreen**_**_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Fire Punch  
>Fury Cutter<br>Thunder Punch  
>Snore<br>Swift  
>Heat Wave<br>Mud-Slap**_

* * *

><p>Jack chuckled and began to walk through Route 29 towards Cherrygrove City and it's Pokemon Centre.<p>

After walking through Route 29 for awhile, Jack finally saw the street-lights of Cherrygrove City, luckily he didn't encounter many Pokemon, as Flare wasn't in the best of conditions, even if he didn't take much damage from the battle with Luke. However, of the Pokemon they did come across, Flare would simply beat them before moving on.

After a minute of walking, he reached the Pokemon Centre, he noticed the main hall was empty. Jack walked up to the main desk and rang the bell. Nurse Joy came hurrying out of the back room, then she saw Jack.

"Back again young man? Your the one with the Charmander from Kanto, correct?" she asked. Jack nodded. "Well then, pass him here and I'll get him healed up".

Jack did as requested, picking up Flare, who was almost dead on his feat, then passing Flare's Pokeball over to Nurse Joy.

"Oh you poor thing, you'll be healed up in no time" she said to Flare, who smiled, gratefully. Nurse Joy walked into the back room with Flare and then came back. "Do you need anything else, young man?" she asked. Jack nodded.

"Can I use your phone?" he asked, he wanted to call Ash, to let him know he made it to Johto safely, he knew Delia would be freaking out if he left it any longer. Nurse Joy nodded and showed him to the phone in the corner. Jack dialled the number for the Ketchum residence.

A phone, all the way in the Kanto region began ringing. _**"RING! RING! RING! - RING! RING! RING! - PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!".**_

Ash Ketchum, who had just finished his dinner, jumped at the sound of the loud phone, he ran to it. The screen read; "Pokemon Centre - Cherrygrove City - Johto Region". Ash got excited and immediately answered.

"Ketchum residence, Ash speaking, who am I talking to" he said.

Jack chuckled when he heard Ash's voice, it hadn't been long, but he had missed his best friend, even if he'd only been gone half a day.

"Hi Ash, it's Jack" he said.

"Hey Jack, it's good to hear from you. Are you okay? Did you get to Johto okay? Did you meet with Professor Elm? " came Ash's excited reply.

"Slow down Ash, first of all, I'm fine and I got here fine. I got the research papers to Professor Elm and I'm in Cherrygrove Pokemon Centre, about to rest up for the night, before I begin my long trek to Blackthorn City".

Jack then asked, "How are you Ash and how is your mum? I bet she's been worried, as I didn't call sooner, am I right?". In the background he could hear, "I heard that mister! It's 9 o'clock!". Jack chuckled.

Jack then told Ash and Delia about his first day in Johto, he told him about the Johto Pokedex Upgrade and about his new 'rival' Luke.

"And so there I was, about to leave New Bark Town and head off to Cherrygrove, when I hear, "Hey you, I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle". Haha, it was intense, my first Pokemon Battle with another trainer, luckily I won. Flare was too strong for his Totodile, even with the type-disadvantage".

Ash laughed and said, "Awesome, I wish I could've been there, it sounded amazing, it looks like you've found yourself a rival then". Jack smiled, thinking the same thing.

"Listen Ash, I've got to go now, I'll call you when I've got my first Gym badge, how's that?" he said, hoping Ash wouldn't get upset.

"That's okay Jack, you get some rest, call soon though, okay?" he asked.

"I will, see ya Ash". Jack hung up.

Nurse Joy walked up to Jack, once he had finished his call.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked, kindly.

"I need a place to spend the night, before stocking up at the PokeMart tomorrow" he replied. She nodded, before saying, "We have a few rooms which are currently free, your welcome to use one to spend the night". Jack smiled.

"Thanks Nurse Joy, I'll do that". Nurse Joy showed him the way to the empty rooms and then left, presumably to tend to the injured Pokemon, who were spending the night.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jack was up, bright and early. He washed, dressed, packed up and left his room. Jack took care to leave the room the way he found it, it was nice after all for Nurse Joy to give him a room for the night, he didn't want to seem ungrateful.<p>

Walking downstairs, he noticed Nurse Joy at the front desk, so he made his way over to her. Nurse Joy noticed Jack coming down the stairs and quickly left the room to get his Charmander.

After collecting Flare, who was in perfect health. He gave Nurse Joy his thanks and left the Pokemon Centre. He made his was over to the PokeMart and picked up some Potions, Pokeballs, Pokemon food and camping supplies.

He figured he'd be roughing it until he got to Blackthorn City and so prepared accordingly. He paid for his items and left.

Jack left Cherrygrove City and called out Flare, as he was was about to head east, back into Route 29. Battling his way through a few Pidgey, Rattata and Sentret, Jack finally reached the entrance to Route 46.

He noticed some different Pokemon in this area, specifically; Geodude and Spearow.

Neither of these Pokemon interested him though, Jack wanted Dragon-type Pokemon. While he knew he'd have to catch some other types, he didn't want these Pokemon, however they were good for training against.

The Geodude were easy to beat, as Flare's Metal Claw attack made short work of them.

After looking around the route for a while, Jack noticed some high ledges blocking his way up.

_"On the upside, at least I'll have an easier time getting down when I'm on my way back" _he thought.

Jack knew he could not climb those high ledges, so he looked around for another possible way to Route 45 and Blackthorn City. There was a cave entrance up on the hillside… but it looked impossible to get to, due to the high ledges, blocking the way.

Jack turned to Flare, "Well buddy, it looks like where aren't getting to Blackthorn City this way". Jack sighed, then he remembered there was a cave entrance near Route 31. He grinned.

_"Back to Cherrygrove City I go"._

A short while later, Jack managed to make it back to Cherrygrove City, walking past the main shops, he headed north, for Route 30. He reached the spot where the two kids with the Pidgey and Rattata where battling yesterday, when he heard a shout.

"Hey you, I remember you, you were watching my battle, well I lost, so now I'm going to battle you and prove I'm strong!" one of the boys shouted. Jack looked at him and then nodded.

"Okay, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get, Go! Flare!" he shouted. Flare leaped in front of Jack, ready for battle. The kid looked worried, before throwing his Pokeball, and out came the same Rattata from before.

"Alright Rattata, use Tackle!". Rattata charged towards Flare.

"Flare, wait for him to get close, then use Ember" he told Flare.

Rattata was getting closer and closer and the kid was grinning, thinking it was too easy. Suddenly, a roaring flame poured out of the Charmander's mouth and onto Rattata, who forgot his attack and ran around squeaking, trying to stop the burning.

Jack grinned, "Good job Flare, finish it off with Metal Claw". Flare ran towards the Rattata, who had just put out his fur, which was on fire. Flare swiped at Rattata, who was flung backwards towards the other kid, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Rattata was knocked out.

"Well done Flare! You did it!" Jack said to Flare, who did his victory pose, Jack laughed and copied him.

Jack then turned to walk on, but was interrupted by the other kid, who had been battling earlier, the one with the Pidgey.

"Hey you! That other kid was easy to beat, I bet you can't beat me and my Pidgey!" he half said, half shouted. Jack groaned internally.

"Okay, your on, want to battle again Flare?" he asked, turning to Flare. Flare looked defiantly at the new kid, who called out his Pidgey.

"Ready to go? Okay then, Flare, use Smokescreen!". Flare blew smoke over the surrounding area. The other kid smirked.

"Heh, Pidgey, blow away the smoke with your Gust attack". Pidgey rose up and started to flap it's wings, blowing away the smoke, just in time to see Flare flying at him with Metal Claw.

The other kid looked shocked, "Pidgey! Dodge!". Pidgey wasn't fast enough, Flare swiped at it, sending it crashing down into the ground. Jack grinned.

"Nice job Flare, now finish it with a long-ranged Ember!" he ordered. Flare was quick to comply, sending a single torrent of flames towards Pidgey. When the flames died down, Pidgey was knocked out.

The other kid growled, recalling Pidgey, "Get back Pidgey! Fine you got past him, now try to get past my other Pokemon! Go! Rattata!". A Rattata, which was larger than the other trainer's Rattata, appeared. Jack frowned, while Flare hadn't taken any hits, he looked out of breath.

Flare seemed to sense his trainer's doubt and turned to grin at him. This was the opening the other trainer was waiting for.

"Go Rattata! Use Quick Attack!". The Rattata launched itself at Flare at high speed, smacking into Flare and sending him flying back to Jack. Flare landed, but quickly got to his feet. Jack frowned again.

"Flare, use Growl!". Flare growled loudly at Rattata, who looked slightly scared, but was still able to move.

"Rattata, use Quick Attack again!". The Rattata launched itself at Flare again. But this time, Jack was ready for it.

"Flare use Ember in front of you, full power!" he shouted. Flare roared, putting all it's strength into this one attack.

There was a roar of flame and a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, Rattata was lying on the floor in front of Flare, knocked out. While Flare looked fine, except for a couple of bruises on it's side.

"Yeah! You did great Flare!" said Jack, quickly getting up and hugging Flare. The other trainer cried out for Rattata, which he recalled, then ran off, into the tall grass.

The other trainer from before came up behind Jack and spoke.

"That was unfair of him, he had two Pokemon, while you had only one". Jack disagreed.

"I wasn't clear on the terms of the battle, I accepted, instead of agreeing to a 1 on 1 battle, he took advantage of that".

_"I'll have to be careful from now on" _Jack thought. Jack went about healing Flare with a Potion, then said goodbye to the other trainer, before continuing on through Route 30.

Jack reached Route 31, but not without another trainer battle. A trainer wearing a bug catching outfit had jumped out of some trees and ran up to him and challenged him to a battle.

The trainer had battled with 4 Caterpie and a Weedle. Flare had burned though those Bug-type Pokemon in no time, so he said goodbye and continued on his journey. Jack had just gone past Professor Elm's storage house, so this was the furthest he'd come.

Then he reached a fork in the road, west to Violet City and the first gym or north-east through Dark Cave and onto Routes 46, 45 and Blackthorn City. He'd made his decision long ago. Jack headed into Dark Cave, with Flare at his side, using his tail as a light source for the duo.

It was almost pitch-black, there was no other light being emitted from the cave. Without Flare, he knew there was no way through this place.

Being in Dark Cave wasn't one of the most pleasant experiences of Jack's life. He'd traversed multiple rocks and ledges, trudged through cold, thigh-level cave pools while holding Flare above the water, battled his way through countless Geodude and Zubat.

He came across some guy who gave him a pair of BlackGlasses, which apparently increased the power of Dark-type moves.

There was one more stretch of horrible, green, cave water to wade through, because he could see the cave exit in sight.

Taking off his trousers once more and putting them in his pack back, he held Flare in his arms as he kept to the side of the rock-face, hoping he didn't disturb any Water-type Pokemon in the Lake.

As luck would have it, nothing major happened, although he did feel what he hoped to be a Magikarp, nip the back of his leg. Finally, he got out of the cold lake, warming himself by Flare's tail, he got redressed and continued on, through the cave.

Finally, he made it out of the cave. He noticed he was on Route 45.

_"Excellent" _Jack thought. _"I'm walking distance from Blackthorn City"._

He saw some huge Graveler grappling each other, in the tall grass south of him. Wanting to get away as quickly as possible, Jack spotted a bridge to his east, which he quickly crossed.

Just after the bridge, he saw a signpost. _"North - Blackthorn City. South - Rt. 45 (Warning, Mountain Road, beware falling rocks!)"_

Sighing at the sign, he looked north and sure enough, he could see the houses of Blackthorn City. Continuing on, he crossed the bridge north of him, which separated Blackthorn City and Route 45.

He could see two women standing outside the Pokemon Centre. One of them appeared to be Nurse Joy. As he'd read about Pokemon Centres, he knew this wasn't the same Nurse Joy from Cherrygrove City, as all the Nurse Joys were different, but all from the same family.

He didn't recognise the second woman though, she had long, cyan-blue hair, a matching blue top and skirt, blue gloves and boots and… a cape.

He had a feeling he knew who this woman was, after all, Blackthorn City was known as the Dragon-type Gym and Lance, the Dragon Master and Champion of Johto, wore a cape. Interestingly enough, Lance comes from Blackthorn City.

Nurse Joy spotted Jack and turned to the woman next to her.

"There he is, my cousin in Cherrygrove said he would be along. It seems he didn't take the traditional route that most gym challengers take" she said.

"So it would seem, you mentioned something about him being an aspiring dragon master?" the woman questioned Nurse Joy.

"Yes Clair, that's what my cousin told me, from what she overheard, what he told her and what she pieced together for herself" Nurse Joy replied.

As Jack reached the entrance to Blackthorn City, he could see Nurse Joy and the mystery woman eyeing him, while talking to each other.

_"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" _Jack asked himself.

"Hello there, trainer, is your name Jack Starburn, by any chance?". The question came from Nurse Joy. Jack answered in the affirmative.

"That's good, my cousin from Cherrygrove sent word, that you were on your way up here. As you would probably need medical attention, not just your Pokemon. I'm surprised, you look in relatively good condition, considering you came though Dark Cave".

"Why don't we take this inside, Nurse Joy" the other woman said. Jack nodded, he really needed to sit down and have a drink, he was sure Flare needed a rest too.

"Of course, of course" came Nurse Joy's reply.

After entering the Pokemon Centre, finding it surprisingly empty, Jack handed Flare and his Pokeball to Nurse Joy and then sat down. Nurse Joy quickly took Flare into the back room.

The other woman came over to Jack with two cups of water and sat down next to him, offering him a cup.

"Thanks a lot" Jack accepted the cup, gratefully. The woman smiled.

"So, what brings you to my city?" she questioned. Jack raised an eyebrow, he thought he knew who this was, but he had to check.

"Your city?" he questioned. The woman blushed slightly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Clair, the gym leader of this town, I specialise in Dragon-type Pokemon" she said. Jack smiled.

"I had an idea of who you were, miss Clair, I just had to be sure" he said. "The reason I'm here is simple, I have always loved Dragon-type Pokemon and-"

"Let me guess" Clair said, cutting him off. "You just came here to get your hands on some strong dragon Pokemon, is that it?" she said, accusingly, with narrowed eyes.

_"Ohhh boy, this just got a lot harder"_ Jack thought.

"Not exactly" Jack replied, carefully, keeping eye contact. He didn't want to give Clair an excuse after all.

"While it is true I came here to see if I could capture some Dragon-type Pokemon" he said truthfully, holding his hand up as Clair opened her mouth to butt in.

"I came here to make friends with some dragon Pokemon and ask them if they wanted to join my on my journey to becoming a Dragon Master. Another reason was because of you" he said.

Clair's eyes widened for a second, before narrowing again, suddenly wary.

"Because of me?" she questioned. "Why me?".

Jack took a sip of water, before putting the cup down on the table to his right. He then turned to fully face Clair.

"Because I wanted to know if you could teach me about Dragon-type Pokemon" said Jack, nervously.

"I don't pretend to be an expert in Pokemon, heck, nobody is, however I would like to learn from a current, well-known user of Dragon-type Pokemon. The more I learn, the better trainer I become, and the better friend to my Pokemon I will be".

Clair looked at the young boy in front of her. At first she thought he was just after the rare Pokemon held in Dragon's Den, like all the others. In truth, she admitted to herself, he was. However, he was completely honest in his statements, from what she could tell.

The part about wanting to learn from her, threw her too. She saw herself as a gym leader and at any other time, she put on a cold, unapproachable facade.

Either this boy was stupid or he genuinely wanted to learn from her, about caring and raising Dragon-type Pokemon and he didn't seem stupid.

Jack picked up his drink again and took a nervous sip. If she rejected him, his dream was pretty much over. He looked back at Clair, just in time to see her cold facade crack slightly as she let out a warm smile. He grinned back.

"I hope your being genuine young man, I never thought of myself as a teacher before, but I suppose there's a first time for everything" she said.

Jack felt his heart leap in joy. He still had his dream, Clair, the Dragon Mistress herself, had agreed to helping him with caring for his Dragon Pokemon.

"Now this won't be for long mind you, I have a gym to run, I will however allow you to stay in Dragon's Den for a couple of days, as long as it's okay with the elders". Jack grinned at her again.

This was excellent, life was looking up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

**B/N:**

I would once again like to say;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

We hope you have a good weekend!

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	5. Training at Dragon's Den

It's Saturday! You know what that means! A new chapter of Dragon Master Jack!

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Training at Dragon's Den!<strong>

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**Jack picked up his drink again and took a nervous sip. If she rejected him, his dream was pretty much over. He looked back at Clair, just in time to see her cold facade crack slightly as she let out a warm smile. He grinned back.**

**"I hope your being genuine young man, I never thought of myself as a teacher before, but I suppose there's a first time for everything" she said.**

**Jack felt his heart leap in joy. He still had his dream, Clair, the Dragon Mistress herself, had agreed to helping him with caring for his Dragon Pokemon.**

**"Now this won't be for long mind you, I have a gym to run, I will however allow you to stay in Dragon's Den for a couple of days, as long as it's okay with the elders". Jack grinned at her again.**

**This was excellent, life was looking up.**

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jack woke up, feeling great. Last night, before finding a room at the Pokemon Centre, Clair, the Blackthorn City gym leader, had accepted his request for help on caring for Dragon-type Pokemon.<p>

After walking downstairs to the main lobby of the Pokemon Centre and collecting Flare's Pokeball from a smiling Nurse Joy, he met Clair, who was waiting by the entrance to the Pokemon Centre.

"It's good to see your awake and ready" said Clair, looking him over. Jack grinned at her.

"Yep, I'm ready to begin my training" he replied. Clair smiled softly, then nodded.

"Alright then, follow me, I need to head over to the gym and close up for the day" she said, as they left the Pokemon Centre.

As they were walking towards the gym, Clair spoke, "I asked the Elder's about allowing the use of the Dragon's Den for your training". Jack looked up at Clair nervously.

Meeting the Elders was a big deal, hopefully they would approve.

"They want to meet you first, so after I lock up the gym, we'll head over to Dragon's Den". Jack nodded.

True to her word, after she told various trainers, who were training in the gym, she was going to be out for the day and to turn down any challengers till a later date, they left for Dragon's Den.

Jack was very grateful, after all, Clair was a gym leader and had certain responsibilities, for her to be giving up those for him…

"Thank you for doing this Miss Clair" Jack said quietly. He was truly grateful and Clair could see that.

The entrance to Dragon's Den seemed like the entrance to any other cave, however, once inside you could see it wasn't any old cave.

A large lake filled a lot of the space, inside the cave, with an old wooden bridge leading to an old wooden house in the centre of the lake. There were lamps, hanging from the ceiling and running throughout the entire cave, illuminating all of Dragon's Den, in a yellow glow.

After walking for a few seconds, they reached the edge of the bridge. Suddenly, Clair stopped walking beside him, he looked at her and was shocked to find her bowing, her body bent at a perfect ninety degree angle. He looked up and was shocked to see to people with long, grey robes on, wearing hoods which fully concealed their faces, standing in the middle of the bridge.

Jack immediately recognised these people as the Elders of the Dragon's Den, he bowed.

The Elders removed their hoods, as Jack and Clair stopped bowing. The one on the left was an older woman, with grey hair and wrinkles on her face, but was smiling a kind smile at them.

The other Elder, on the right was an older man, also with grey hair and wrinkles, he had a stern demeanour about him, but a small smile on his face, none-the-less.

The woman spoke first, "I see this is the young, aspiring Dragon-Master, you told us about Clair" she half stated, half asked. Clair simply nodded.

The male Elder eye'd him, with a glint in his eye, then chuckled, "Your eagerness reminds me of a young, red-headed child who wanted to be a Dragon-Master". Jack looked shocked.

The woman nodded and a smile. "So, why don't we go sit over there and talk about Dragons" she said, pointing at the wooden house. They all crossed the bridge, Jack looked over the edge to see Dratini and Magikarp swimming, he thought he saw a Dragonair further down.

Upon entering the wooden house, which was covered in maps and wallpapers with pictures of Dragon-type Pokemon, that Jack recognised from all over the world. The floor had some kind of rug on it, which was red, with gold trimmings along the outer edge.

As they all sat down, cross-legged on the floor, the Elders asked Jack all sorts of questions; "Why Clair?" "Why Dragon-type Pokemon" "Why Dragon's Den" and so forth. After a while, the questions came less frequently, as the Elder's frowns of concentration, became smiles of acceptance.

"Unfortunately, Clair cannot be here to teach you about Dragon Pokemon all the time, as she has a gym to run" said the female Elder, who's name was Angela. The male Elder, Michael, nodded. Jack looked worried.

"Not to worry though" Michael said, "We'll be able to help you through, caring for some of the Dragons we have in this cave" pointing to himself and then to the lake, the house was sat on.

"That's great, I'm sure all learn a lot, being taught by all three of you" Jack said, with a grin. Michael and Angela chuckled at his exuberance, while Clair smiled at him.

So they left the house and walked back across the bridge. Jack then saw part of the cave which was previously dark, light up, revealing a wooden dock, which lead into the water.

"I hope you don't mind getting wet, young one" Angela said, with a hint of teasing in her voice. Luckily, Clair had told him to wear some shorts under his usual trousers. Jack had previously changed out of them in the wooden house.

"I don't mind" Jack said. They walked over to the wooden dock and Clair instructed him to walk, slowly, down the wooden stairs and sit on the last step, above the sub-merged wooden platform. Jack did as she instructed, then he dangled his feet over the edge and into the lake.

The lake was surprisingly warm, or at least, not as cold as he thought it would be. Suddenly, a pair of curious Dratini swam over to him, not within touching distance, but close enough to see what this intruder was doing in their lake. Jack smiled at them.

"Hi there" he said, "My names Jack". The Dratini swam closer and one touched his leg, while the other swam onto the sub-merged wooden platform, beside him, before raising it's head above the surface, "Tini! Drat! Dratini!".

The other Dratini, swimming around Jack's legs, actually jumped out of the water and into Jack's lap, clearly not wanting to be left out. There was something different about this Dratini though, now that it was out of the water, Jack could see it properly.

This Dratini was pink, instead of a light shade of purple. Jack, shocked, looked up at the Elders, who were watching amused at this.

"It seems you've found some new friends, Jack" said Michael. Clair walked over to the steps, walking down them and sitting on the step, one higher, than Jack. She looked at the Dratini, almost as shocked as Jack.

"I've never seen a shiny Dratini before, your adorable" she said, stroking the Dratini. "Tini!". Jack finally snapped out of his stupor and copied Clair's actions.

Then they heard a sound, which sounded like a cross between a bark and a yelp. It came from the other Dratini, on the sub-merged platform, only there was a Magikarp there as well.

Looking towards the Elders and back to the sub-merged platform, he silently asked if he was allowed to sit on it, with the other Pokemon, the Elders nodded.

He carefully picked up the pink Dratini, who squealed at being lifted, Jack smiled and resumed stroking her as he made his way down to the other Pokemon.

As he sat down he was immediately bombarded by the other Dratini and the Magikarp. He discovered, the shiny Dratini was female, which seemed obvious, the other Dratini was male and so was the Magikarp, who seemed to constantly bump into Jack, wanting to play.

This Magikarp, wasn't a, jump about and flap wildly Magikarp, this Magikarp had a strange grace and knew how to swim normally. Plus it was really hyperactive, constantly swimming circles around the cross-legged Jack.

The shiny Dratini seemed content to just sit in Jack's arms, while the other Dratini just wanted to talk. All he heard over the next 10 minutes, was "Tini! Drat! Dratini!". It was kind of cute.

The Elders retreated to their wooden house for a sit down, while Jack and Clair seemed content to sit there, playing with the Pokemon. Occasionally, Clair, would spew out random facts, or show him how to stroke Dratini correctly, as they had delicate skin.

As night was approaching, Jack reluctantly left the lake, but not before apologising to a pair of upset Dratini and the Magikarp, promising he would be back first thing in the morning. Satisfied, they said goodbye to their new friend and swam off into the lake.

Clair and Jack walked out of Dragons Den and towards the Pokemon Centre. While they were walking, Jack had a question for Clair.

"I regret not letting Flare out much today, do you think he could be allowed out of his Pokeball to meet our new friends tomorrow?". Clair thought about it, then smiled.

"I'm sure the Elders will have no problem with that, I think they'd like to meet your Charmander and see how you treat your Pokemon". Jack nodded, satisfied.

After they reached the Pokemon Centre, they said goodnight and parted ways.

After greeting Nurse Joy, Jack went to his room. Once inside the room, Jack reached for Flare's Pokeball and called him out. Flare looked at Jack confused as to where they were.

"I'm sorry Flare, I didn't think the Elders would let you in Dragons Den, but Clair assured me they would allow it, plus they want to meet you" Jack said, apologetically. Flare nodded. "Char! Char! Charmander!". Jack took that to mean he was fine with it.

"That's great! Plus I made some new friends, a pair of Dratini and a Magikarp, you'll get to meet them tomorrow" Jack said, with a smile. Flare grinned back.

With that settled, Jack got ready for bed.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jack was up bright and early, ready to introduce Flare to the Elders and his new friends.<p>

Jack got ready for the day, wearing shorts and forgoing the trousers, keeping them in his backpack and headed downstairs.

He was surprised to find Clair was not waiting for him, so he called Flare out of his Pokeball and sat down on one of the waiting chairs, smiling at Nurse Joy, who was at the front desk.

Clair appeared 10 minutes later, apologising for the wait.

"I'm sorry I'm late, my cousin Lance called me and I got a little side tracked" she said, suddenly noticing Jack acting weirdly, fidgeting in his chair. After a few seconds of staring at him with a frown, she got her answer.

"Do you mean THE Lance?" he said, with a strange look on her face. Then it clicked.

"I take it your a fan of his?" she half stated, half asked, with a smug look on her face. She was surprised to see him shake his head, then tilt it to the side slightly.

"No-... well, yes, sorta, I admire the guy, I mean, he's a famous Dragon Master, but he's also my goal, I want to become the worlds best Dragon Master, so he's my goal, when I beat him, I'll ascend to those ranks, you know, the best of the best" he said. Clair nodded.

"That makes sense, I told him about you actually, a young aspiring Dragon Master, with a shiny Charmander" she shook her head, smiling slightly, "He wants to meet you". Jack's mind when into overdrive at that.

"He wants to meet ME?" Jack whispered, awed. Clair's smile turned into a half grimace.

"Yes he does, soon. Now then, shall we head over to Dragon Den?". Jack immediately snapped out of his trance. They got up and left for Dragons Den.

"Welcome back, Jack" said Michael, as they entered the cave, "I hope you slept well".

"Yes, I did, thank you Elder Michael. Hello Elder Angela" he replied, bowing. Clair also bowed.

"Hello young ones" Angela replied, with an amused smile. _"She's the one to watch out for"_ thought Jack.

"And who is this?" Angela asked, looking at Flare, who was half hidden, behind Jack's leg. Jack reached down and patted Flare's head, scratching him behind his ear.

"This is Flare, my Charmander" Jack replied, before kneeling down and saying to Flare, "Flare, these two people are the Elders Angela and Michael". "Char" said Flare, as a greeting. Angela smiled.

"Shall we see if you can find your friends from yesterday?" she asked. Jack nodded, before walking off to the wooden dock. Flare only just seemed to notice the large lake, he yelped, not liking water.

"It's okay Flare, I won't force you to go in there, I would like it if you sat on the dock, above me though" Jack said, with a smile directed at Flare.

After a short while of kneeling on the sub-merged dock, with his nose almost touching the water, searching for his new friends, a pink head popped out of the water a few feet from Jack.

Jack looked at the pink Dratini smiling. The shiny Dratini, swam up to him, then turned at dove back into the lake. Jack looked confused, wondering what he did wrong. He turned to look at Flare, then he heard two simultaneous, "Tini!".

He looked back to see the pink Dratini with the other Dratini from yesterday, as well as the Magikarp. Jack smiled.

"Hey guys, good to see you again" he said, receiving a reply of, "Drat! Tini!", "Tini" and "Karp! Karp!". He chuckled, before turning to Flare, then back to them.

"This is my Pokemon, Flare", he then turned to Flare, "Come and say hi, Flare". Flare walked down a few steps, stopping a few before the lake and looked down, "Char! Char! Charmander!".

The next thing Jack knew, the pink Dratini was in his lap, the hyperactive Magikarp swimming circles around him, jumping out of the lake every so often and the other Dratini and Flare having a conversation. Jack just sat there, stroking the shiny Dratini scales, like Clair showed him.

Half an hour later or so, Clair called for him.

"Jack, can you come up here please, I'd like to see what your Charmander is like in battle". Jack looked worried, before thinking, it would be okay.

Jack turned to the 3 Pokemon around him, "I've got to get up now, Clair wants to see what I can do with Flare in battle, your welcome to watch" he said, to a disappointed trio of Pokemon. The pink Dratini, reluctantly, moved itself from Jack's lap.

Jack got up and walked up the dock stairs, with Flare and surprisingly, the curious Dratini pair, following him, the Magikarp, for obvious reasons, stayed in the lake to watch.

As they got into battle positions, Jack turned to Flare next to him. "Flare, this is only a mock battle to test out how well we work together, don't worry about winning, but focus on doing your best, okay?" he said. Flare nodded, determinedly.

"Good luck Jack, Flare. Here we go! Go! Dragonair!" Clair's Dragonair came bursting out of the Pokeball in a flash of white light.

"Are you ready Flare?" he questioned, Flare nodded, "Okay, here we go, Go! Flare! Use Smokescreen near Dragonair!". Jack sure wasn't hanging around, getting the battle started off.

"Dragonair, blow the smoke away with your Twister!" Dragonair flicked it's tail in a circular motion, whipping up a twister and putting it in the middle of the battle field. The twister blew away the smoke, before dissipating.

"Now Flare! Use Metal Claw!" Clair's eyes widened, Flare hid itself in the smoke and was almost upon Dragonair, she cursed under her breath.

"Nice try Jack, Dragonair! Use Agility to avoid the attack, then counter with Wrap!" Dragonair just managed to avoid Flare's Metal Claw, increasing it's speed factor in the process.

_"This isn't going to be a fun battle" _Jack thought grimly, as he watched Flare get trapped by Dragonair's Wrap Attack. Flare wriggling within Dragonair's tail, desperately trying to escape it's grasp.

"Flare! Calm down and use Ember!" Jack ordered. Flare calmed down and released a short stream of fire, starting at the tail he was wrapped in, before being released and aiming the jet of flames at Dragonair's head. Needless to say, Clair didn't respond kindly.

"Dragonair! Counter those flames with your Dragon Rage!" Dragonair released a jet of blue flames, at Flare.

"Flare! Dodge!" Flare tried to dodge, but got burnt up his left side by Dragon Rage.

"Dragonair, get in close and finish this with Slam!" Dragonair slithered over to Flare. _"Perfect" _thought Jack.

"Flare, use Smokescreen and wait for Dragonair to get close" Flare did as instructed, smoke billowing from it's mouth. Dragonair was searching through the smoke for it's opponent.

"Now! Flare, use Metal Claw!" Flare roared, jumping at Dragonair from behind, with his claws glowing. Dragonair suddenly turned and slammed Flare backwards through the air, towards the side of the cave.

Jack was already running, before Flare hit the wall, diving and catching him before he hit the floor.

"Are you alright Flare?" Jack asked, tears in his eyes, in pain at the thought that his friend might be hurt, and because of the dive, his body had scraped against the rocky, cave floor.

The pair of Dratini & the Magikarp watched, their eyes glued to Jack and Flare, as they faced off against Clair and her Dragonair. The pink Dratini had made her mind up by the end of the battle, now she just needed to convince her mate.

If you would have looked at the pink Dratini then, you would have sworn you saw a large, almost evil looking, smirk form on her face as she looked at the male Dratini next to her.

Jack looked up at Clair, who held her hand out to him, helping him up. Clair looked Flare over, checking for any damage, before spraying any wounded areas with a Potion.

"You battled well Jack, I wasn't expecting it to take as long as it did" said Clair, without a hint of arrogance, only a smile, "how long have you had Charmander?".

"Not long, I don't think it's even been a week, but Flare is a natural at battling, even with so little experience" said Jack, proud of Flare, for doing as well as he did.

"Tini!", "Dratini! Tini!", "Karp! Karp!", came the calls from the sidelines. Jack looked over to see them all staring at him with impressed looks on their faces.

"Looks like your new friends want to play again, it's okay, we're done for the rest of the day, I need to talk to the Elders" said Clair. Jack grinned at her.

"Awesome, thanks for the battle" he said, picking Flare up and walking over to the dock.

Clair and the Elders sat down in the wooden house, watching Jack play with the Pokemon, through the window.

Michael spoke up, "It seems like those three will be leaving with Jack tomorrow". Clair looked at him shocked.

"Your letting him take them?" she questioned. Michael shock his head.

"That's not my decision to make, if they want to go, I'm not going to stop them". Angela nodded, in agreement.

"While this is a sanctuary for Dragon Pokemon, they'll never reach their full potential in here, they need to see the real world, something tells me our new friend Jack will help them do that" said Angela.

"Besides" said Michael, "I remember, not too long ago, a blue haired little girl in here, playing with the Pokemon much the same" he said, grinning at Clair. Clair blushed slightly and looked at Jack again.

Clair walked out of the house on the lake and over to Jack, with the Elders.

"Jack" Clair said, as Jack turned towards her, she continued, "it's time for us to leave now, so you can eat before you sleep". Jack stomach gave an angry grumble. They all laughed.

"Okay, Clair. Let's go Flare. I'll see you three tomorrow, okay?" he asked. The trio of Pokemon nodded, before swimming of into the lake.

"I think it would be best to let your Charmander rest up at the Pokemon Centre tonight, with Nurse Joy watching over him, I'm not sure I fully healed him with those Potions" Clair said, as they were leaving Dragons Den.

"I agree" said Jack. They reached the Pokemon Centre and explained the situation to Nurse Joy, who gave Jack an impressed look. After all, a rookie trainer managed to last more than 5 seconds against Clair, it was an amazing achievement.

Nurse Joy took Flare away and said she'd watch over him and that he'd be as good as new by tomorrow. Jack and Clair parted ways, like the night before, with a quick goodbye and left for their rooms.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Clair met Jack downstairs and after collecting Flare from Nurse Joy, they both walked towards Dragons Den. Clair had something to say.<p>

"Jack, you are a very gifted Pokemon trainer and some day, I'm sure you will rise to the best of the best, but unfortunately, this is the last day you can spend in Dragons Den, as I have a gym to run and the Elders have their own obligations" she said. Jack nodded, with a sad smile.

"I understand Clair, I want to thank you for all the help you've given me, I'm sure because of it, I'll be a better trainer, thanks to all of your help" he said. Clair smiled at him.

"Your welcome Jack. The good news is that we have a surprise for you in Dragons Den, I got a call last night, saying he'd arrived" Clair told him. Jack stared at her, wondering if she was talking about, who he thought she was talking about.

As they entered Dragons Den, they didn't get their usual greeting from the Elders, however the lights were on in the wooden house, which Clair made her way over too.

As they entered the door, Jack was shocked to see THE Lance, Johto Champion, sat down chatting with the Elders. They all turned to look at Jack, while Clair made her way over to Lance, who stood up as they hugged.

"Good to see you, cousin" she said, with a cheeky smile. Lance smiled at her, then looked back at Jack, who was staring at him, from the doorway.

Lance looked over to Clair and whispered, "Hero worship, or something?" he asked. She snorted, replying with a, "Not exactly". Jack finally snapped out of it and walked into the room, sitting across from Lance, next to Michael and Angela. Lance and Clair sat down, completing the circle.

Lance turned to Jack, "So Jack, I've heard good things about you and that your an aspiring Dragon-Master, is that true". Jack nodded quickly, with a grin, "Yeah, I love Dragon-type Pokemon. One day, I will become the best of the best, even if it means beating you". Lance chuckled, at his determination.

Angela turned to Lance. "Don't you laugh mister, I remember a small boy with red hair, saying almost the exact same thing" she said, with a amused smile. Lance laughed and turned to her.

"I know, that's why I'm laughing, I'll bet he already has at least one Dratini, who has wanted to follow him out of Dragons Den, am I right?" Lance said, looking sideways at Clair, who simply snorted in reply. "Actually, he has 3 Pokemon. Two Dratini and a Magikarp". Lance looked shocked.

"Really?" he asked. Clair laughed. "Yes, one of the Dratini is a shiny Dratini too" she said, laughing. Lance chuckled, standing up, he turned to Jack, "Shall we go meet your friends then Jack?" he asked looking at him. Jack nodded, happily.

"Yeah!" he said, almost running out of the room. He could hear laughing from the house, but he didn't care, he wanted to see his friends again.

Jack grabbed Flare's Pokeball and released Flare, who looked around confused, before recognising Dragons Den.

"Come on Flare" he called, walking quickly over to the sub-merged dock and sitting down, while Flare sat on the step above him, leaning over the edge. They didn't have to wait long.

"Tini! Tini! Tini!" came the call from the pink Dratini, as she jumped out of the water and splashed down, into Jack's lap. Jack laughed, before stroking her pink scales. The other Dratini and the Magikarp weren't far behind her.

"You know, for all of the pampering you get, I'm tempted to call you Princess" he joked, to the Dratini in his lap. The Dratini ignored him, in favour of purring. Jack laughed, and was surprised to see the male Dratini laugh as well, or, as much as he could guess.

The female Dratini shot the male a dirty glare and he immediately shut up. What Jack didn't see was Lance mime a whipping motion to Clair, while they both chuckled. The hyperactive Magikarp was still swimming circles around Jack.

Lance walked down the dock, and sat next to Flare, looking at him carefully. Flare turned to look up at Lance. "Well, aren't you something" Lance whispered. Flare simply grinned in reply.

Lance was amazed at the sight of, not only the unusual charcoal black Charmander, but also the pink Dratini.

A little while later, before noon, they decided Jack needed to leave to be able to get back through Routes 45 & 46 and to Cherrygrove before nightfall. The trio of Pokemon looked distraught that their new friend was leaving.

The female, pink Dratini refused to leave Jack's arms as they got up, to leave the lake. When Jack finally managed to get her down, she slithered up to Flare, pointing her tail at the male Dratini and Magikarp, then she pointed at herself, then at Flare.

Jack was confused for a second, then he thought she wanted to battle Flare. It seemed she wanted to battle for the right to join him and if he won, he could capture her, the male Dratini and the Magikarp. He asked her if that's what she meant, she nodded rapidly. Jack looked towards the Elders for guidance.

Angela smiled at him, "We thought this might happen Jack, you have our permission to capture them".

Jack looked shocked, then grinned, "Great". Jack turned to Flare, "Ready to battle Flare?" he asked. Flare nodded, then turned towards the pink Dratini.

_"Here's my chance to get some new friends" _Jack thought, _"I'll do my best"._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

**B/N:**

I would once again like to say;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

We hope you have a good weekend!

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	6. New Friends & Violet City

Hi everyone and welcome back!

We hope everyone has had a good weekend!

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 6: New Friends &amp; <strong>**Violet**** City!**

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**Jack looked shocked, then grinned, "Great". Jack turned to Flare, "Ready to battle Flare?" he asked. Flare nodded, then turned towards the pink Dratini.**

_**"Here's my chance to get some new friends," **_**Jack thought, **_**"I'll do my best".**_

* * *

><p>As Flare faced off against the female Dratini, for the chance of capturing both Dratini's and the Magikarp, Lance, Clair, Michael and Angela stood off to the side, Lance had not yet seen Jack or Flare in action and was looking forward to it.<p>

The male Dratini and Magikarp were in the lake off to the side watching the battle, hoping Jack and Flare won, as they wanted to travel with Jack.

"Alright Dratini, you've got the first move!" Jack shouted. Dratini nodded and quickly disappeared from sight, reappearing next to Flare and slamming into him, knocking him back towards Jack.

_"That was an Extremespeed attack!" _Jack thought. Dratini didn't let up, quickly, rushing towards Flare, glowing blue. _"And that is a Dragon Rush attack!"_ Jack thought, panicking slightly.

"Flare, dodge left and use Metal Claw!" Flare dodged left, avoiding the Dragon Rush attack, then turned and brought his glowing claws down on Dratini, who tried to dodge. The Metal Claw attack caught the female Dratini's tail, making her wince in pain.

_"I've got to stick to Normal and Steel-type attacks, as Fire-type attacks do little damage to Dragon-types" _Jack thought. He quickly ordered Flare to Growl at Dratini, who looked scared, but soon frowned in determination.

"Flare, use Scratch!". Flare jumped at Dratini, who was still slowed in fear. Bringing his paw down on her head, Flare jumped away after he hit. Dratini got up, albeit slowly, and tried another Dragon Rush attack.

"Don't let it hit, Flare! Use Smokescreen and dodge!" Flare nodded, then released a stream of smoke from it's mouth, before dodging right. Dratini remembered this strategy from the battle Jack had with Clair, but couldn't find Flare.

"Now Flare! Finish this with Metal Claw!" Flare leapt at Dratini with a growl and attacked with Metal Claw. Unfortunately for Dratini, she wasn't as quick as Dragonair and so took the full force of Flare's Metal Claw attack.

"Okay Flare, that's enough! Pokeball, GO!" Jack shouted, throwing a Pokeball at the downed Dratini. The ball shook once. Twice. Three time. Then pinged, signalling the capture. Jack jumped up and down in happiness.

"Yeah! I caught a Dratini! Great job Flare!" he said, turning to Flare, who did his victory pose, paw in the air.

Jack then walked over to the Pokeball on the floor. Picking it up, he called out Dratini, who yelped in defeat, before jumping into his arms. Jack laughed, happily stroking her scales. Then the clapping started.

Jack looked over to see Lance, Clair and the Elders clapping. Lance spoke up, while Clair handed Jack a potion for Dratini, who happily accepted.

"That was an excellent battle Jack, you played to your strengths, used strategy and remembered not to use Fire-type attacks on a Dragon-type Pokemon, well done!" he said, smiling at him. Jack smiled at Lance, before spraying a Potion on Dratini, who winced at the stinging.

"Thanks Lance, it was a great battle, Dratini did really well" he said, resuming his stroking of her scales. Jack looked down at Dratini.

"Can I give you a nickname, Dratini?" he asked. Dratini nodded, she knew this would happen, as he would have two Dratini's on his team. Jack thought for a moment, speaking out loud.

"I was thinking Princess, because you act like one" he said to her, with a cheeky smile. "But that seems too cheesy, how about, Crystal?" he said. Dratini nodded, happily, before turning her tail to point at the remaining two Pokemon, who had yet to be captured.

Jack walked over to the sub-merged dock. Flare was on the step above him and Crystal was next to Flare. Jack knelt down in the water, the male Dratini and the Magikarp swam over to him. "Tini! Dratini!", "Karp! Karp!".

"Are you guys sure you want to come with me?" Jack asked. The male Dratini looked almost offended, before he nodded, while the Magikarp just nodded, before resuming his swimming around Jack. Jack smiled, pulling two Pokeballs from his backpack.

"Okay then, here we go" he said. Dratini and Magikarp swam beside him, Dratini on his left, Magikarp on his right, their noses touching the Pokeballs, then they were both sucked into the Pokeballs, which didn't even shake, then pinged, signalling their capture.

Jack smiled, then he called them out. "I'd like to give you both nicknames, is that okay?" he asked. They both nodded, while Jack thought out loud.

"Well, your both male, so it would have to be something less girly than Crystal" he said, with a smile towards the pink Dratini. "I've got it!" Jack said, looking at them both.

He pointed towards the male Dratini, "I'd like you to be called Mystic" and then he pointed towards Magikarp, "And I'd like you to be called Hyper". They both stared at him, before nodding happily. Jack laughed.

A few minutes later, the Elders, Jack, Lance and Clair were sat on the wooden house floor, discussing what will happen next and where Jack should go. Jack had Crystal wrapped around his chest and upper left arm, with her head poking out of his shirt, while Flare was sat next to him.

Mystic and Hyper, preferred to stay in their Pokeballs, Hyper for the reason that he could only breathe in water and Mystic was just lazy, it seemed. Lance had commented about Flare and Crystal's odd colouring. Jack had laughed, saying it seemed he was collecting shiny Pokemon.

Clair spoke up, "I think you should head back towards Cherrygrove City, but instead of going through Dark Cave" when she said this, Jack shuddered, Clair smiled, "You should head down Route 46 & 45, it's easier to get down those high ledges than up".

"Once your there, you should head to Violet City, and challenge Falkner, that's where most first time challengers go to" Lance said, with a smile. Jack realised something.

"I haven't scanned my new Pokemon yet" he said, in shock. Lance and Clair chuckled, "Go ahead Jack". Crystal slithered down Jack's front, landing in his lap, before crawling off him and turning around to face him.

Jack pulled out his Pokedex and pressed the scan button.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Dratini - The Dragon Pokemon. This Pokemon is full of life energy. It continually sheds its skin and grows steadily larger.<strong>_

_**Sex: Female**_

_**Height: 5'00"**_

_**Weight: 7.7 lbs**_

_**Ability: Shed Skin - If Dratini is inflicted with a status condition, it has the chance of healing.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Wrap  
><strong>__**Leer  
><strong>__**Thunder Wave  
><strong>__**Extremespeed*  
><strong>__**Dragon Rush (Egg Move)  
><strong>__**Dragon Breath (Egg Move)**_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Dragon Rage  
>Slam<br>Agility  
><strong>_

_***Note: Extremespeed is a move, only Dratini from Dragons Den can learn. Extremespeed is a priority move, like Quick Attack.**_

* * *

><p>"Wow Crystal, you know a lot of moves, Extremespeed and Dragon Rush too!" he said excitedly to Crystal, who was preening under the praise. Jack decided to scan Mystic next.<p>

"Come on out, Mystic!" said Jack. Mystic left his Pokeball in a flash of white light, then started to converse with Crystal. Crystal explained that Jack was checking their moves. Mystic nodded.

Jack scanned Mystic next.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Dratini - The Dragon Pokemon. This Pokemon is full of life energy. It continually sheds its skin and grows steadily larger.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 5'05"**_

_**Weight: 8.0 lbs**_

_**Ability: Shed Skin - If Dratini is inflicted with a status condition, it has the chance of healing.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Wrap  
><strong>__**Leer  
><strong>__**Thunder Wave  
><strong>__**Extremespeed*  
><strong>__**Light Screen (Egg Move)  
><strong>__**Dragon Breath (Egg Move)**_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Dragon Rage  
>Slam<br>Agility**_

_***Note: Extremespeed is a move, only Dratini from Dragons Den can learn. Extremespeed is a priority move, like Quick Attack.**_

* * *

><p>Jack looked at Mystic in surprise. Lance spoke up, "That's a powerful pair of Dratini you have there Jack". Crystal and Mystic glowed under the Dragon Master's comments. Jack grinned at them, then he looked at Mystic.<p>

"By the fact that your longer than Crystal, I'd say your closer to evolving than her, your still along way off though" he commented. Crystal seemed to glare at Mystic, who appeared to smile sheepishly at her. Jack laughed, then turned to the others.

"Can I go to the lake and scan Hyper?" he asked. They all nodded and got up to leave. Jack walked back to the dock and called out Hyper. Hyper jumped up and down in the water, while Flare, Crystal and Mystic explained to him what was going on.

"I'm going to scan you now, okay Hyper?" Jack asked. Hyper nodded.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Magikarp - The Fish Pokemon. For no reason, it jumps and splashes about, making it easy for predators like Pidgeotto to catch it mid-jump.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 2'11"**_

_**Weight: 22.0 lbs**_

_**Ability: Swift Swim - If it is raining, Magikarp's speed doubles.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Splash  
><strong>__**Tackle  
><strong>__**Bounce (Egg Move).**_

* * *

><p>Jack glared at the Pokedex, when it read out Hyper's description. Hyper looked down, sadly.<p>

"Hey, it's okay Hyper, your my Pokemon now, together we'll get stronger and show the Pokedex that Magikarp are strong Pokemon, right?" Jack half stated, half asked. Hyper perked up and nodded at Jack, jumping and splashing up and down.

Lance smiled at Jack's compassion and affection towards his Pokemon. Jack recalled Hyper and Mystic, while Crystal chose to wrap herself around Jack in the same way as before, in what appeared to be her preferred position. Flare chose to walk next to him, as usual.

After saying goodbye to the Elders, Jack, Lance and Clair walked out of Dragons Den and towards the Pokemon Centre. When they got there, they heard, "Well, well, well… If it isn't Lance, the Champion of Johto". They looked up to see Nurse Joy, smiling at them.

"Nurse Joy" Lance acknowledged, with a nod, "Your looking particularly stunning today" he complimented. Nurse Joy blushed, while Clair rolled her eyes at Lances antics, he always had a soft spot for Nurse Joy. Jack looked confused.

"Hey Nurse Joy" said Jack, with a grin. Nurse Joy smiled at Jack. "Let me guess, little one. You need your Pokemon in tip top shape, for the road ahead?" she guessed. Jack nodded, then introduced her to his new Dratini, while handing her 4 Pokeballs.

Nurse Joy accepted them and left for the back room. Jack realised he hadn't got to speak to Lance casually and so used the time they had, while they were waiting, wisely.

Lance told him of his and Clair's childhood and how he started out on his own journey, as well as some funny stories. "And so, there I was, Dragonair had just used Ice Beam to finish off Gyarados and I threw a Pokeball… unfortunately, he slapped it right back and it hit me in the face".

Jack laughed, while Clair giggled. Lance had a slightly embarrassed look on his face, but was smiling at the memory. "Looking back it was quite funny, but I was so embarrassed, the Gyarados actually fell to the floor laughing, so I quickly caught it". Then he added, grumbling.

"He was probably to busy laughing to resist the capture". Then he chuckled. Jack's face grew red, from laughter. Clair started snorting, while laughing, then stopped, looking mortified and glared at Lance and Jack for laughing at her expense.

Nurse Joy came out with Jack's Pokemon, handing him 4 Pokeballs. Jack immediately called out Flare and Crystal. They came out looking perfectly healthy. Crystal slithered up Jack, before wrapping herself around his left shoulder. Jack smiled at her.

After saying goodbye to Clair and Lance and thanking them for all the help and support, as well as promising them both battles in the future, Jack turned and left the Pokemon Centre. As he was walking south, from Blackthorn City, towards Route 45, he spoke out loud.

"Well, here we go, the next stage of our Johto journey begins here, hopefully we'll get to Cherrygrove by nightfall" he said. Jack slowly and carefully made his way down Route 45, avoiding the tall grass, as the high level Pokemon would overwhelm them.

Making his way past the entrance of Dark Cave, Jack continued on, sticking close to the river, which was running down Route 45. Occasionally, Jack would see a trainer, but managed to avoid them, battling an experienced trainer, was not something he needed right now.

After seeing a sign for Route 46, Jack and his Pokemon continued walking. They eventually came across a series of ledges, like the ones Jack couldn't get up to get to Blackthorn City the easy way.

Jack was right about the assumption he made before. It was much easier to get down them, than it was to get up them. It wasn't a big fall, but Jack didn't want to risk it, so he recalled his Pokemon, letting them out again, once he was down.

Repeating the process a few more times, he finally made it to the ledge that, once passed, allowed him access to Route 29. From there, Jack walked west, once he was on Route 29. Battling a few low level Pokemon, who were easily defeated by Crystal and Flare.

Jack reached Cherrygrove as the sun set, and he sighed in relief as he walked into the Pokemon Centre. Nurse Joy walked over to him after healing another trainer's Totodile.

Nurse Joy smiled at him, "Nice to see you again Jack". Jack smiled, "Hello again, Nurse Joy, can you take a look at my Pokemon". "Of course" came her reply. Nurse Joy accepted the four Pokeballs and headed for the back room.

Sometime later, she came back out. As she handed Jack his Pokeballs back, she said, "Your male Dratini and Magikarp were fine, only your Charmander and your female Dratini needed healing". Jack nodded, with a thank you.

"Do you have any rooms for the night?" Nurse Joy nodded, "We have a couple left" she said. Jack followed her to one of the empty rooms, then she left.

Jack released, Flare, Crystal and Mystic. "Okay you three, you get the option of sleeping on the other bed, or in your Pokeballs, your choice".

Jack then went to lie down on the other bed. Flare chose to go back into his Pokeball, while Crystal and Mystic, chose the bed, after wrapping themselves around each other and the pillows, they drifted off to sleep. Jack did the same.

* * *

><p>Jack woke up the next morning, at 7am, to find Crystal and Mystic in the same position, from the night before. He chuckled, then woke them up.<p>

Crystal, unsurprisingly, shot him a glare, for waking her up so early, Mystic simply rolled his eyes and slithered over to his Pokeball, withdrawing himself. Crystal seemed to yawn, before rolling over.

Jack went about getting ready for the day, then he roused Crystal, who looked in a slightly better mood, she crawled up his leg and his arm, wrapping herself in her usual spot.

Jack called Ember out of his Pokeball and then walked with him, down to the main lobby. It was quiet in the lobby, however Nurse Joy looked wide awake. Shaking his head and suppressing a yawn, Jack smiled at her, before leaving.

Jack left Cherrygrove and headed north, towards Route 30, remembering his way around, he quickly headed past the spot where the two trainers battled a few days ago, when they blocked the main route.

Heading into Route 31, Jack walked past Professor Elm's storage facility, Jack continued deeper into Route 31. Unfortunately, there was a small tree, blocking his way. Smaller than the others, but wide enough to be unable to pass, Jack had to venture into the tall grass to continue.

Fighting through many Weedle, Pidgey, Caterpie and the occasional Metapod, proved easy with Crystal incapacitating them with Thunder Wave and Flare finishing them off with Ember. He thought about brining out Mystic, to join in, but decided against it.

Jack decided to use Mystic against Falkner, with Flare as back-up. A shiny Charmander was rare enough, but a shiny Dratini as well? Jack shook his head, he didn't want to draw attention to himself too early. Plus, Mystic should be able to beat Falkner's Flying-type Pokemon, no problem.

As Jack reached the fork in the road, last time he headed north, into Dark Cave. This time he was heading west, towards Violet City. Jack saw a pond to his right and came across a trainer who had some Water-type Pokemon, training in there.

He asked her for a battle, which she accepted. Jack decided Hyper wasn't going to be able to battle on land until he evolved, it helped that Magikarp generally evolve early. Hyper could use the battle experience.

The trainer, Lily, he thought her name was, called out her Poliwag, while Jack called out Hyper. Lily was surprised to see a Magikarp. Lily had her Poliwag use Bubble, which Jack had Hyper counter with Bounce.

Hyper jumped out of the water, over Poliwag's Bubble attack and landed on it, slamming it underwater, creating a huge splash. Lily looked on in shock, Jack then had Hyper dive underwater and Tackle it from underneath.

Hyper rammed into the Poliwag, smacking it out of the water and onto the patch of grass that Jack and Lily were stood on. Poliwag was knocked out. Lily congratulated Jack and recalled her Poliwag as Jack recalled Hyper, telling him what a good job he did.

Jack walked on further, beating another trainer, who had a lot of bug types, Flare beat them all easily.

Eventually, Jack made it through Route 31 and into Violet City. Jack went straight to the Pokemon Centre. He walked up to Nurse Joy, who smiled at him, then her eye's lit up in recognition.

"Ah, you must be Jack, my sister in Cherrygrove and cousin from Blackthorn told me about you, it seems they've taken a shine to you, don't worry, I'll heal all of your Pokemon". Jack nodded, speechless, he didn't think she would know him.

"This is the first gym of the region, right?" Jack asked Nurse Joy, who nodded, with a smile, "Correct".

"Is Falkner taking challengers today?". Nurse Joy shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure, someone mentioned he was going to be at the Bellsprout Tower till later". Then Nurse Joy left to get Jack's Pokemon.

"Thanks Nurse Joy" said Jack, as she handed him his Pokeballs back. "Your welcome, come back whenever you need" she added with a smile.

_"My Pokemon are strong enough to take on Falkner, but I'd like to learn some type advantage moves, just in-case"_ Jack thought, _"I'd like to use just Mystic with Flare as back-up"._

Jack decided to train all day and battle Falkner tomorrow. After calling out Flare, Jack left the Pokemon Centre, he decided to head back to Route 31 and train his Pokemon, Flare and Hyper would evolve very soon, with Crystal and Mystic not far behind. He also needed Mystic to learn an Ice-type attack.

Making his way towards the pond where Hyper had his first battle, Jack called out Hyper and told him he'd be battling wild Water-type Pokemon with him as soon as he set Mystic and Crystal up training, Hyper nodded, with a "Karp!".

Jack called out Crystal and Mystic, who looked at him expectantly. Jack looked at them.

"I'm going to scan you two, for a list of possible attacks, is that okay?" he asked. Crystal and Mystic immediately sat up straighter, excited to see if they could learn a new move. Jack scanned Mystic with his Pokedex.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Full list of possible attacks for the Pokemon: Dratini<strong>_

_**Wrap - Normal**_

_**Leer - Normal**_

_**Thunder Wave - Electric**_

_**Twister - Dragon**_

_**Dragon Rage - Dragon**_

_**Slam - Normal**_

_**Agility - Psychic**_

_**Dragon Tail - Dragon**_

_**Aqua Tail - Water**_

_**Dragon Rush - Dragon**_

_**Safeguard - Psychic**_

_**Dragon Dance - Dragon**_

_**Outrage - Dragon**_

_**Hyper Beam - Normal**_

_**Bind - Normal**_

_**Draco Meteor - Dragon**_

_**Icy Wind - Ice**_

_**Snore - Normal**_

_**Shock Wave - Electric**_

_**Secret Power - Normal**_

_**Endure - Normal**_

_**Captivate - Normal**_

_**Natural Gift - Normal**_

_**Whirlpool - Water**_

_**Swift - Normal**_

_**Headbutt_** - Normal**_**_

_**Body Slam_** - Normal**_**_

_**Double-Edge_** - Normal**_**_

_**Mimic_** - Normal**_**_

_**Endure_** - Normal**_**_

_**The following list of attacks are Egg Moves:**_

_**Aqua Jet - Water**_

_**Dragon Breath - Dragon**_

_**Dragon Dance - Dragon **_

_**Dragon Pulse - Dragon**_

_**Dragon Rush - Dragon**_

_**Haze - Ice**_

_**Iron Tail - Steel**_

_**Mist - Ice**_

_**Supersonic - Normal**_

_**Water Pulse - Water**_

_**Light Screen - Psychic**_

_**Dratini from Dragons Den can learn the following attacks:**_

_**Extremespeed - Normal**_

* * *

><p>Jack looked at Mystic and Crystal, who both looked stunned. Mystic already knew; Wrap, Leer, Thunder Wave, Extremespeed, Light Screen and Dragonbreath.<p>

Jack decided to have Mystic learn Icy Wind. Unfortunately for Jack, he had no idea how to teach Mystic Icy Wind, one of the only Ice-type moves available for Dratini to learn.

However, Jack had a plan. He also wanted Crystal to learn Icy Wind, just as back-up. Jack explained to Crystal and Mystic, what he wanted them to do, to learn Icy Wind.

Jack had Mystic dip his tail into the pond, to get the feel of a lower temperature than normal. Then he had Mystic use Dragonbreath, while Crystal copied him. Jack thought, by turning down the temperature of Dragonbreath, it would come out colder, like an Icy Wind attack.

He set Mystic and Crystal off doing that, before turning to Hyper and Flare. Jack didn't think Flare needed any more training for now, Flare's job was to keep any nosy Pokemon or Pokemon Trainers away from Crystal and Mystic, he could shout for help at any time.

Jack then told Hyper to search for Pokemon in the pond to battle and to bring them to the surface.

As time past, Hyper had already battled 8 Pokemon, 5 Poliwag, 2 Magikarp and even a Poliwhirl. After each battle, Jack would heal up Hyper, before sending him back down to find more Pokemon to battle.

After healing Hyper, from his last and hardest battle, with the Poliwhirl, Jack was suddenly blasted by frigid air from behind him. Jack turned around to see Crystal smirking at him.

"You got Icy Wind down I see" he said, rather dryly, to her. In response, her smirk got even bigger. Jack rolled his eyes, before congratulating her.

Jack pulled out his Pokedex and rescanned her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Dratini - The Dragon Pokemon. This Pokemon is full of life energy. It continually sheds its skin and grows steadily larger.<strong>_

_**Sex: Female**_

_**Height: 5'00"**_

_**Weight: 7.8 lbs**_

_**Ability: Shed Skin - If Dratini is inflicted with a status condition, it has the chance of healing.**_

_**New Move Learnt: Icy Wind**_

_**Icy Wind is a basic Ice-type attack. The user attacks with a gust of chilled air. It also reduces the targets speed.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Wrap  
><strong>__**Leer  
><strong>__**Thunder Wave  
><strong>__**Extremespeed*  
><strong>__**Light Screen (Egg Move)  
><strong>__**Dragon Breath (Egg Move)  
>Icy Wind<strong>_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Dragon Rage  
>Slam<br>Agility**_

_***Note: Extremespeed is a move, only Dratini from Dragons Den can learn. Extremespeed is a priority move, like Quick Attack.**_

* * *

><p>Jack turned to Hyper and recalled him, with a "Well done, Hyper".<p>

He looked over to Mystic, to see him hitting a rock, with part purple, part light blue air. It looked very peculiar, like he was trying to combine Dragonbreath and Icy Wind. Jack walked over to him.

"How's it going Mystic?" he asked. Mystic looked at Jack, with a tired but determined expression, before mock-glaring at Crystal, who giggled (if you could call it that) at him. Jack rolled his eyes again.

"Crystal, I'd like you to help Mystic with Icy Wind, then we'll pack up for the night". Crystal nodded. Jack looked around for Flare. After finding him in a tree, he called him down.

"Any trouble?" he asked Flare. Flare nodded, then shook his head, before holding up a paw with 3 fingers raised. Then he pointed to 3 charred Pokemon, 2 Metapods and a Bellsprout behind the tree, they looked close to recovered.

"I see, well done" he praised Flare, before walking back to Mystic. Mystic had just finished his first Icy Wind attack as Jack walked back into the clearing. Jack couldn't be happier, he sat down with his Pokemon.

"I'm proud of all four of you today" he said, pointing to his belt, which contained Hyper. His Pokemon puffed themselves up in pride. "You all did very well, now it's time to go get something to eat and sleep in the Pokemon Centre, tomorrow we challenge the Violet City gym!" he said.

Jack recalled Crystal and Mystic and walked with Flare to the Pokemon Centre, in Violet City.

Walking into the Pokemon Centre, Jack handed 3 of his Pokemon to a smiling Nurse Joy, who questioned his decision, Jack replied with, "Flare will be fine with some food and a good nights rest, right buddy". Flare smiled and nodded.

Nurse Joy nodded her head, in acceptance, then asked about his training. Jack told him about his two Dratini learning Icy Wind and his Magikarp training to evolve, while his Charmander stood on guard.

"I'm going out to find something to eat and stop at the PokeMart, before returning" Jack informed Nurse Joy, who nodded, before saying goodbye and walking into the back room, with Jack's Pokemon.

Jack walked to the PokeMart first, since it would probably close earlier. 10 minutes later, he walked out with some Great Balls, 5 Potions, some Antidotes and some Paralyze heals. Jack found a quiet restaurant and ate with Flare.

Jack returned to the Pokemon Centre, half an hour after he left it. Jack walked over to Nurse Joy, quickly left to get his Pokemon. She returned 1 minute later, with 3 Pokeballs. "Here you go Jack, your Pokemon are all healed now".

"Thanks, Nurse Joy" Jack replied. "Are there any rooms here tonight? I want to rest up for my gym battle tomorrow" Jack asked. Nurse Joy nodded, before asking Jack to follow her.

Nurse Joy showed Jack to his room, then left.

Jack called out Crystal and Mystic. With the same sleeping arrangements as last night, they all went to sleep, eagerly anticipating their first gym match, tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

The moves for the Pokemon were all taken from Serebii, with a few that have been messed around with, for example; Light Screen is an egg-move in my story, but in the Pokemon games, it can only be taught via TM16.

**B/N:**

I would once again like to say;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

Be sure to check back here next weekend, for 3 more chapters!

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	7. Bellsprout Tower & The First Gym Match

Hi everyone! It's the weekend and you know what that means, more Dragon Master Jack!

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Bellsprout Tower &amp; The First Gym Match!<strong>

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**Jack called out Crystal and Mystic. With the same sleeping arrangements as last night, they all went to sleep, eagerly anticipating their first gym match, tomorrow.**

* * *

><p>Jack woke up, bright and early. He wanted to get completely prepared, before challenging his first Johto gym leader. If he wasn't in the right frame of mind, he wasn't going to get his first gym badge.<p>

Jack double checked he had everything he needed, triple checked who's Pokeball was who's. After waking his sleeping Pokemon, he got ready to leave. Even Crystal didn't complain about waking her up early.

Jack knew that most gym leaders had 3 on 3 Pokemon battles. Jack's plan, was to tank Falkner's entire team with Mystic, having Flare and Crystal as back-up. While he'd rather not let everyone know he had two shiny Pokemon, he knew eventually it would get out.

While Jack knew Pokemon Hunters weren't exactly common, the ones he'd heard about were ruthless and played for keeps. The longer he kept his Pokemon a secret, the more time he had to train them and the stronger they would get, then he wouldn't have to hide them.

He only really needed to hide Crystal, considering he'd had Flare walking with him around Johto so far.

Jack walked downstairs, after recalling Mystic and Crystal. As he was about to leave, Nurse Joy called out to him.

"Hey! Jack?". Jack turned and walked over to her. Nurse Joy smiled at him.

"I heard someone say they saw Falkner on his way to Bellsprout Tower earlier". Jack thanked Nurse Joy for the information. Jack read the clock on the wall. 8 am.

Leaving the Pokemon Centre, Jack headed past the Violet City gym and towards the bridge, to the north of Violet City. Crossing it, he saw a large tower, surrounded by a thick forest.

As Jack entered the Bellsprout Tower, he was immediately advanced upon by 2 guys, wearing purple cloaks and sandals.

"What are you doing here?" They asked. Jack decided to be honest. "I'm looking for the Violet City gym leader, Falkner, I heard he was here".

They looked at each other, then back at Jack. "If you beat us, maybe we'll let you past". Neither confirming nor denying what Jack said. Jack nodded.

"A 1 on 1 battle?" he asked, just to confirm. The one on the left nodded, before introducing himself. "I'm Sage Chow and he's Sage Nico" he said, pointing to the one on the right.

Jack nodded, "My names Jack, let's battle". Chow pulled out a Pokeball and a Bellsprout jumped out.

_"Surprise, surprise… he has a Bellsprout. I never saw that coming"_ Jack thought, sarcastically. _"I'll bet the other guy has a Bellsprout too". _Jack turned to Flare and said, "Ready to battle?". Flare nodded, before calmly stepping in front of Jack.

Chow went first. "Bellsprout, use Growth". Jack's eyebrows rose. _Looks like he's setting up, I'd better finish this and his friend, I'd like to face Falkner today" _he thought.

"Flare, use Ember". Flare nodded, opening his mouth. A torrent of flames poured from his mouth, racing towards the Bellsprout, who was engulfed by the stream of flames.

"No Bellsprout!" shouted Chow. Bellsprout fell backwards, knocked out. "Nice try Bellsprout" Chow said, recalling it. Jack smiled at Flare and called him back to his side. Then he turned to Nico, with a raised eyebrow.

Nico seemed to sweat slightly, before resigning himself to his fate. Chow stepped back and Nico took his place.

"Go! Bellsprout!" he called, sending out another Bellsprout from his Pokeball. Jack sighed, "Flare, you know what to do!". Flare nodded, jumping forward, releasing another sea of flames, raining down upon Bellsprout.

Nico seemed so shocked by the first attack, he stood there, watching as his Bellsprout took the hit and fell to the ground, burned and charred, knocked out.

"That was fast" Jack remarked, then grimaced. He hated sounding arrogant, but in truth, it was way too easy.

Nico smiled sadly, before recalling his Bellsprout. "I should have seen that coming" he said. Chow and Nico apologised for holding Jack up and confirmed that Falkner was at the top floor of the Tower.

They showed him to a ladder, leading up to the 2nd floor. Apparently, the 4th floor was the top floor. Jack nodded and passed them, walking towards the ladder.

Jack climbed to the 2nd floor. After battling more Sages, with more Bellsprout, Jack finally climbed the ladder to the 4th floor. As Jack reached the top, 3 Sages rushed him.

"You will not interrupt Master Li! We shall not let you pass" said the middle one, angrily. Jack was slightly short tempered by this point, he had battled nearly 10 Sages just to get up here and had to feed Flare a couple of berries he'd picked up, just for the energy boost.

"Either get out of my way, or lose your Bellsprout" Jack almost snarled, calling Flare to battle. Jack took a few deep breathes, trying to calm down. Then became enraged once he opened his eyes. All 3 Sages had Bellsprouts out, and these looked slightly stronger than the others.

"Fine then! If that's how you want to play it! Mystic, come out and use Icy Wind!" Jack called. Mystic appeared and it seemed to stun the Sages. Mystic quickly recognised the situation they were in and used Icy Wind, for the first time, in battle.

The results were spectacular. All 3 Bellsprouts were frozen solid and on their sides, while the 3 Sages were shivering and had bits of snow and ice on their cloaks. All 3 Bellsprouts were recalled. Jack sighed, thinking it was over. He was wrong.

The middle Sage pulled out a second Pokeball. Jack thought this was another Bellsprout and internally face palmed. Could these people get more predictable?

But no, the Sage threw the Pokeball wordlessly and out came a Hoothoot. Jack was surprised, for about a second. Before recognising the fact he'd released a Flying-type, against a Pokemon who knows an Ice-type move.

_"Well, at least Mystic will get practice for the gym, trying to hit a moving target" _Jack thought. _"Let's make this easier for ourselves"._

"Mystic, use Thunder Wave". Mystic shot a bolt of electricity at the Owl Pokemon. Hoothoot was hit and went down, unable to move it's wings, with sparks of electricity running over it's body. Jack smirked.

Thunder Wave did no damage, so most trainers over looked it, in favour of a stronger Electric-type attack, but Jack knew it's advantages. Thunder Wave always made the target paralysed, if it hit. This had major advantages in a Pokemon battle.

To an inexperienced Pokemon, being hit by Thunder Wave will make them unable to move, allowing it to be swiftly defeated. To the experienced Pokemon, being hit by Thunder Wave would still allow it to move around, however it's speed and evasiveness will take a drastic decrease.

"Mystic, finish this off with Icy Wind" Jack ordered. Mystic nodded, before releasing a howling, frigid cold wind, from it's mouth. Jack kind of felt bad for the Hoothoot. Freezing cold and spasming randomly, the Hoothoot eventually fainted, ending the battle.

The Sage, who had been battling, recalled his Hoothoot, shoulders slumped over, in defeat. He turned to glare at Jack before wordlessly pointing behind a pillar… Wait a minute… Was that pillar… Moving?!

Upon closer inspection, it seemed the pillar in the centre did nothing for the Tower's support structure, it was just swaying slightly, completely un-attached to the Tower itself.

"Interesting isn't it?" spoke a voice, that Jack knew from somewhere. He turned to see Luke, the trainer he battled, back in New Bark Town. Jack nodded.

"I've just gotten here, I beat Falkner yesterday and got my first gym badge, I was told I could go to Bellsprout Tower to train" Luke said, bragging slightly when he said he had his first gym badge.

"Ah, I haven't gotten the pleasure of meeting Falkner yet" Jack said, confirming Luke's suspicions of not having the first gym badge. Luke snorted. Jack turned to him, with a raised eyebrow.

"I would have thought you had beaten Falkner already, considering you beat me thoroughly a few days ago" he said, saying the last part quieter than the first.

"Hey Luke! It seems you took my advice?" said a voice, from behind Jack. Jack turned and saw a boy, who looked only a couple of years older than him. He had light blue hair and a Pidgey on his shoulder.

"Yes Falkner, I have" replied Luke, without expression. Jack looked at Falkner, unsurprised, he knew Falkner was supposed to be in the tower and the guy had a Pidgey on his shoulder.

Suddenly, an elderly man walked out from behind Falkner and towards Jack. "I've been told you beat all of my Sages in this tower, is this true young man?" he asked, with what seemed like forced politeness.

Jack nodded. "I see" replied the old man. "My name is Elder Li, Master of the Sages, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle". Falkner looked at Jack, surprised, while Luke immediately raised his objections. "Hey! No fair! I came here to challenge you" he sulked. Elder Li looked at him.

"Nonsense! This young man has challenged the Sage's honour, albeit unknowingly" he added, seeing the look of surprise of Jack's face. Jack nodded and stepped forward. "I accept your challenge".

The Elder nodded. Falkner dragged a, protesting, Luke to the swaying Pillar, while Jack moved to the opposite side of the small clearing, on the top floor of the tower.

Falkner then stepped forwards and spoke, "This will be an official 3 on 3 Pokemon Battle! Substitutions will be allowed! As Challenger, Jack will have the first move. Please choose your Pokemon!". Elder Li withdrew a Pokeball and threw it forwards, unsurprisingly, out came a Bellsprout.

Jack looked at Flare, "Ready for battle buddy?" he asked. Flare nodded and stepped forwards. Falkner spoke up again.

"Both trainers have chosen their Pokemon, the challenger will make the first move. Begin!". Jack didn't waste any time.

"Flare, start this off with Ember!" Flare took a step forwards and opened his mouth, releasing a torrent of flames, with a growl. The flames raced towards the Bellsprout, licking at the floor, as they drew closer. Elder Li smiled.

"Bellsprout, counter with Growth" he calmly ordered. Bellsprout waited until the flames were almost on it, then glowed white. It seemed the white glow from the Growth, was protecting Bellsprout from most of the flames, that were licking at the Flower Pokemon.

Jack growled internally, thinking of a different tactic. Elder Li noticed his hesitation and acted upon it. "Bellsprout, attack with Vine Whip!". Bellsprout released it's vines, which sped towards Flare.

"Flare, use a short, wide range Ember! Keep those vines away!" he ordered. Flare turned his head left and spewed forth flames, slowly turning his head to the right. The wide, arc of flames repelled the vines, which were retracted by Bellsprout.

_"Time to go on the offensive"_ Thought Jack. "Flare, use Metal Claw!". Flare nodded and charged at Bellsprout, slashing downwards with glowing claws, dealing some damage on Bellsprout. Elder Li growled.

"Bellsprout, use Vine Whip!" he barked. The vines were a lot closer this time and Flare was smacked away. Flare got up and growled at Bellsprout.

"Flare! Finish this with Ember!". Flare was angry with Bellsprout for hitting it, this anger powered up his flames. Elder Li tried to defend Bellsprout with Growth, but this time, it wasn't enough. Bellsprout fainted, burned and charred.

"Bellsprout is unable to battle, the winner is Charmander! Elder Li, please choose your next Pokemon!". Elder Li nodded, recalling Bellsprout with some kind words. He then threw his next Pokeball, and out came a Hoothoot, which looked stronger than the other Sage's Hoothoot.

"Flare, come back!" Jack called, Flare looked at Jack and nodded, returning to his trainer's side. Jack pulled out Mystic's Pokeball and threw it. "Let's go Mystic!". Luke looked up, wondering what kind of Pokemon Jack had caught. Everyone was shocked when a Dratini came out. "Ready to battle, Mystic?" Jack asked. Mystic nodded.

"Rare Pokemon won't help you win this battle, Hoothoot, Hypnosis!" called Elder Li. Hoothoot nodded, and looked at Mystic. However Mystic seemed unaffected. Elder Li was flabbergasted, spluttering, "What? How? Why isn't your Pokemon asleep?".

Jack spoke up, "Mystic has a rare ability called Shed Skin, which has a chance to cure status problems, such as sleep". Jack smiled, "Mystic, use Thunder Wave". Mystic nodded, shooting an electric bolt at Hoothoot, who tried to dodge.

The Thunder Wave caught Hoothoot's foot, who fell to the floor, only just able to walk. Jack looked at the Elder, commenting, "Your Hoothoot is strong, it's strong enough to resist Mystic's Thunder Wave". Elder Li nodded and called out to Hoothoot.

"Hoothoot, can you walk?". Hoothoot hooted weakly, only just managing to move around, completely unable to fly. Falkner looked slightly worried, thinking it was going to be a pretty one sided battle, if Jack decided to use that Pokemon against him.

"Hoothoot, use Peck!" Hoothoot nodded, randomly spasming, as it hopped closer to Mystic. Jack shook his head sadly. "Mystic, put it out of his misery, use Dragonbreath, finish this!". Mystic opened it's mouth and released a purple dragon fire attack. Hoothoot stood no chance.

"Hoothoot is unable to battle! The winner is Dratini! Elder Li, please choose your final Pokemon" said Falkner, after looking Hoothoot over. Elder Li recalled Hoothoot, before sending out a second Bellsprout.

"The challenger gets the first move! Begin!" called Falkner. Jack smiled, "Mystic, use Thunder Wave and follow it up with Icy Wind". Everyone's eyes opened, shocked.

Elder Li had no time to react, in a matter of seconds, Bellsprout was on the floor, spasming and shaking, ice and snow covering it.

"Bellsprout is unable to battle!" called Falkner, over the silence, his voice shaking slightly, "Dratini is the winner and the victory goes to Jack!".

After recalling their Pokemon, Jack, Luke, Elder Li and Falkner sat down at one of the tables. They spoke about Jack's time in Blackthorn City and the upcoming gym match, between Falkner and Jack, with the Zephyr Badge on the line.

"You have the advantage of surprise, don't forget Falkner" Jack pointed out. It was true, Jack knew the type, but only one of the Pokemon that Falkner would use, during their gym match. "But then again, you only know two of my four Pokemon" Jack added, enjoying Falkner's face pale.

Falkner looked at Jack and said, "Well, I think you should go heal your Pokemon at the Pokemon Centre and meet me at the gym in 2 hours". Jack nodded, standing up. They all said goodbye to Elder Li and descended through the floors of Bellsprout Tower.

After reaching the Pokemon Centre, Jack gave all of his Pokemon to Nurse Joy, saying he had 2 hours till his battle with Falkner and they all needed to be fully rested. Nurse Joy nodded.

"Just leave them to me, all get them all healed in time for your battle". Jack nodded, with a smile and left for some last minute things at the PokeMart. He returned half an hour later, and decided he wasn't going to waste his time, sitting around doing nothing.

Jack walked up to the phone and decided to make a series of calls, first Professor Elm, then Professor Oak and finally to Ash (and Delia). Jack entered the number that Professor Elm had given him.

After waiting a few beeps, Professor Elm answered, "Yes, hello? Who am I speaking to?". Jack looked confused, then smiled, remembering it would have said; Violet City Pokemon Centre, on the caller ID.

"It's Jack Starburn from Pallet Town, remember me, Professor?" he asked, with amusement in his voice. "Oh Jack! It's you!" came the excited reply. Jack shook his head, Professor Elm was rather excitable, he mused.

"Yes Professor, just calling to give you an update, like I promised" said Jack. Jack proceeded to tell the Professor about Dark Cave, Blackthorn City, Meeting Clair, Dragons Den, the trip back, Bellsprout tower and everything in-between.

When he was finished, the Professor blew out a long breath. "Oh wow Jack, that sounds like quite an adventure, I'm glad your having fun and you've already caught another 3 Pokemon? Congratulations" he said, excitement, seeping into his voice.

"Thank you Professor, I have my first gym match in just over an hour, I am sufficiently prepared and my Pokemon have been trained well so far, so I should do well" Jack said, with confidence. Professor Elm chuckled.

"I'm glad to hear it Jack, good luck in your match. I assume your going to call Professor Oak soon?" he questioned. Jack hummed, "I am Professor, would you like me to pass on a message?". Professor Elm laughed.

"Oh no, no. It's fine. I was just wondering, as your originally from Kanto. However, you can say 'Hi' to him for me, I'm one of his old students" he said, with a smile in his voice. "I will Professor" Jack replied.

"Alright then Jack, thank you for calling, keep me updated on your journey, not as many people as you would think call me. It's nice to talk to someone once in a while" Professor Elm said. Jack laughed. "I will do Professor, until next time".

"Yes, until next time, goodbye Jack" said Professor Elm and with that, he hung up. Jack chuckled to himself, before dialling the number Professor Oak gave him.

After a little while of waiting, a voice that Jack recognise picked up, "Hi there, this is Gary, Professor Oak's grandson, gramps is out right now, but will be back in about ten minutes, please call back then" Gary said, not giving Jack a chance to talk.

Jack spoke quickly, just in-case Gary hung up, "Oh, hey Gary, this is Jack, tell your grandpa, I'll call back in a while" Jack said, with a smirk in his voice. Gary seemed to be in stunned silence.

"I hope your being nice to Ash" Jack added, in a slightly annoyed voice. Gary quickly spoke, "J-Jack! Oh, yeah, I've been good to Ash, I swear!". Then Jack heard a voice in the background, "Gary, who are you talking to?", "Ah! Gramps! Here take it, it's Jack Starburn".

The sound of Gary running from the room, echo'd into the phone, while Jack laughed internally, he always freaked out Gary for being mean to Ash. Then he heard Professor Oak.

"Ah, Jack? Are you there?" he said, turning on the video. Jack turned his on as well. Jack looked amused, it seemed the Professor had just finished his lunch, he had some mayonnaise and tomato sauce on his cheek.

"Did you just finish lunch Professor?" Jack asked, with amusement in his voice. The Professor looked up at Jack, "Yes, how did you guess?". "You have something on your face" Jack replied, chuckling.

Professor Oak's eyes widened, as he looked in the corner of the screen. He quickly wiped the mess away with a napkin. He smiled at Jack. "Well then, now that's sorted, Jack, tell me, how is your journey going?" he questioned.

Jack relayed everything he said to Professor Elm to Professor Oak, adding bits that were relevant, such as the journey and meeting his old student. Jack also told Professor Oak about the Pokemon he'd caught.

"Ah, so you've caught some Dragon-type Pokemon then Jack? Good for you! And a shiny Dratini as well? My, my!" Professor Oak said, amazed and amused. Amazed at the fact Jack actually made it to Blackthorn City and amused he'd caught another shiny Pokemon.

"There have been a couple of interesting scientific articles floating around lately to do with shiny Pokemon actually" Professor Oak said, going into teaching mode, "Apparently we shouldn't call them shiny, they're simply Pokemon with different colourings". Jack rolled his eyes.

"Well obviously they're different colouring professor, I don't see why we can't label them as 'shiny' Pokemon anymore". Professor Oak laughed, "Yes, quite right Jack".

"Well Professor, I've got 45 minutes until my first gym match and I haven't called Ash yet" said Jack. Professor Oak smiled, "Okay my boy, good luck in your first gym match and don't forget to call me regularly, not as many people as you would think do". Jack chuckled.

"I will Professor, until next time" Jack said. "Until next time Jack, good luck!" Professor Oak said, then hung up. It amused Jack how similar Professors Oak and Elm were.

_"1 last call, then time for my first gym battle"_ thought Jack, as he dialled the Ketchum residence.

- At the Ketchum residence -

_**"RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!". **_"I'll get it!" called Delia, as she walked into the living room from the kitchen. She read the caller ID; Pokemon Centre - Violet City - Johto Region.

_"Ooooh! I think it's Jack!" _Delia thought, squealing internally. "Hello, this is the Ketchum residence, Delia Ketchum speaking, who may I ask is calling?". She said, forgetting in her excitement, that she had accepted a _video _call.

- Back at the Violet City Pokemon Centre -

Jack watched as Delia's ecstatic face popped up on the screen, then his face morphed into one of confusion when she asked who it was speaking. _"She couldn't have… could she?"_ Jack thought, as his face shifted into an evil grin.

"I'm hurt you don't recognise me on the screen Delia, you once told me I was like your other son, I see you didn't really mean it" Jack said, with a mock-sad look on his face, as he somehow fought against the smirk threatening to burst onto his face.

He almost dropped the phone when Delia squealed loudly in his ear. "Jack! It's you!". Jack thought about replying, "Jack? Jack who?", but ultimately decided against it. He'd messed with her enough, even if she didn't acknowledge it.

Jack laughed, "Yes Delia, it's me, is Ash around? I'd like to talk to you both". Delia nodded and then said, rather loudly, "Hold on Jack" making eye contact with someone else in the house, presumably Ash, he mused. "He's here now" Delia said, speaking to Jack again.

Another face popped up behind Delia. It was his best friend, Ash. "Hey Jack! I've- *urk* WE'VE missed you" Ash added, massaging his stomach, from where Delia elbowed him, jokingly. Delia, stood up and let Ash sit down at the phone, choosing to stand behind him.

Jack laughed at the interchange, typical Ash & Delia. Jack was about to speak, when his shoulder was tapped. He turned around and saw Nurse Joy stood there. "Sorry to interrupt your call Jack, but your Pokemon are fully healed in time for your gym match with Falkner".

Jack nodded, with a smile, "Thank you Nurse Joy, your the best". Nurse Joy smiled at him, before walking back to her desk. Jack turned back to speak to Ash and Delia. "Sorry about that, I was at Bellsprout Tower in Violet City earlier…".

Jack proceeded to tell them both about what happened since he last called them. Ash almost demanded to see his Pokemon, so Jack showed him Flare and his new Pokemon Crystal and Mystic. He told them he couldn't show them Hyper, and he had no water.

"Hyper is a Magikarp, I befriended and caught in Dragons Den. These two are Dragons called Dratini, the pink one is a shiny, female, I called Crystal and the normal coloured one is a male, whom I called Mystic". Delia frowned, but quickly wiped it off her face. Jack said nothing of it.

Jack quickly recalled Crystal, Mystic and Flare. After getting a questioning look from Ash, he sighed internally and then explained about how rare they were and about Pokemon Poachers and Hunters. Ash frowned, but carried on with what he was going to say before.

"Your Pokemon are so cool! You got some amazing Pokemon Jack!". Jack laughed, he could always count on Ash to cheer him up and make him laugh. "You can catch Magikarp just about anywhere, but the Pokemon I caught in Dragons Den are special".

Jack went on to talk about all the differences, including growth, move sets, etc. Before he knew it, it was 10 minutes till he was due at the Violet City gym.

"Listen Ash, Delia, I'm sorry but I've got my gym match in 10 minutes, so I've got to go" Jack said, with a sad smile. Ash shook his head and gave Jack a smile. "You go on Jack and do your best! Show Falkner who's the better trainer!". Jack and Delia smiled at Ash.

"I'm glad your not upset Ash, I'll call you both when I'm in Azalea Town, okay?". Ash nodded, "Sounds good Jack! Good luck out there and give it your all!". Delia said something along the same lines. Jack thanked them for the support and hung up.

Jack triple checked his Pokemon, items and battle plan; Stun them, evade hits and hit them hard & fast. Jack smiled at Nurse Joy, who called out good luck and then he left the Pokemon Centre.

Jack calmly walked up to the Violet City gym. As he entered at least 2 people moved to intercept him. Suddenly Falkner appeared behind them, he said, "Normally I wouldn't mind you testing the trainers that come here, but this guy beat the Bellsprout Tower challenge and Elder Li".

As Falkner said this, a look of awe passed across the faces of the trainers, who tried to get to him and they backed down. Falkner smiled at Jack, who politely smiled back. Jack followed Falkner to a lift. As they got inside, Falkner turned to Jack.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Jack knew that it was because Falkner was slightly nervous, in truth, so was Jack. "I'm sure I'm feeling the same as you, slightly nervous and very excited" Jack replied. Falkner gave him a look of shock, then smiled.

"I wasn't expecting you to read me that easily" he said. Jack smiled mysteriously at him, Falkner chuckled. Then the lift stopped and the doors opened, giving an amazing view.

The gym had an open roof, allowing for Flying-type Pokemon a lot of space, to avoid attacks, hopefully Falkner would keep them reasonably restricted as to where they were allowed to go.

An official Pokemon referee, who was stationed in Violet City, stepped up and spoke to them both.

"Do you, Falkner, gym leader of Violet City, accept this challenger, with the Violet City gym badge, the Zephyr badge, at stake?" he asked, rolling his eyes at Falkner, in a familiar way. Jack supposed they knew each other rather well, but standards had to be maintained, after all.

"I, Falkner, gym leader of Violet City, accept this challenger, with the Zephyr badge at stake" Falkner said, winking at Jack, who laughed. The referee chuckled slightly, before moving backwards as Jack and Falkner took their places on either side of the field.

"Very well then! This will be a 3 on 3 Pokemon battle, where only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! There is no time limit! Do you, Jack Starburn, from Pallet Town, accept these rules?" the referee shouted the first bit, before looking over at Jack, for the last bit.

Jack nodded, before saying. "I accept these rules!". "Very well then! As challenger, Jack will be allowed the first move and choice in Pokemon". Jack nodded, before grabbing Mystic's Pokeball.

"Come on out! Mystic!" Jack shouted, as Mystic came out of his Pokeball, stretching and staring at Falkner. Falkner didn't waste time, "Go! Spearow!". After Falkner's Spearow was released, the referee spoke up.

"Both trainers have chosen their Pokemon, the challenger will make the first move! Begin!" he shouted, stepping back, off of the battlefield. Jack immediately went on the offensive, wanting to hit Spearow before it could get in the air.

"Mystic, use Thunder Wave!" Jack shouted, Mystic drew back and launched an electric bolt right at Spearow, and caught it's wing, as Falkner called out, "Dodge Spearow!". Spearow, somehow, managed to regain control of itself and got in the air.

However it's altitude was varying, it's body was constantly being shocked and as a result, it couldn't fly well at all.

Falkner sighed, then said, "Spearow, use Leer!". Jack immediately countered, "Mystic! Use Light Screen!". A wall of, what looked like, translucent glass, appeared in front of Mystic, shining and glinting in the sunlight. As a result, Spearow's Leer failed.

Falkner growled, "Spearow, go in and use Fury Attack!". Jack grinned, he had him now, as so he waited.

When Spearow finally got in range, Jack said, "Mystic, use Dragonbreath and follow it up with Icy Wind". That effectively ended that round. As Spearow finally reached Mystic, he was engulfed in purple dragon fire.

As a result, Spearow was blown backwards and hit the ground. Hard. Spearow barely managed to get up, full of burns and spasming randomly, Spearow was buffeted by the Icy Wing, freezing him and covering him with snow and ice.

Jack was surprised to see Spearow trying to shake it off. Jack shook his head, "I've got to tell you, that's one tough bird, but it's time to end this. Mystic, Extremespeed".

One second, Mystic was next to Jack, the next, Mystic slammed into Spearow. The hit shook off the last of the snow and ice, Spearow flew through the air, landing in front of Falkner, knocked out. Mystic slithered back to Jack. Falkner shook his head.

The referee spoke up, "Spearow is unable to battle! The winner is Dratini! Falkner, please choose your next Pokemon!".

"I knew it was going to be a tough battle, but wow. That's some power and speed" Falkner said, as he recalled his Spearow, then he grinned, "But I think my Pidgey can handle it, Go!". Falkner threw the Pokeball on the ground. A Pidgey came out.

The referee spoke up again, "Falkner will get the first move! Begin!". Falkner started it off, "Pidgey, use your Gust!". Jack smirked. Pidgey took to the air, and began to flap it's wings.

The strong winds, that were whipped up by Pidgey's wings, simply hit the translucent glass barrier from before. Falkner looked at Jack, confused, "I don't understand, what happened?" he questioned.

Jack smiled and explained, "Light Screen is a special Psychic-type move, is suppresses damage from special type attacks". What Jack didn't say was, it can only take a certain amount of damage, before being destroyed and it takes a lot of power for a young Dratini to create one.

Speaking of which, Mystic was looking a little tried. "Mystic, use Icy Wind". Mystic drew back and released a frigid, cold wind from it's mouth, roared towards Pidgey, who was buffeted by the hit, fell from the sky. As it was falling, Jack said.

"Mystic, use Thunder Wave!" Mystic launched an electrical bolt, straight towards where the Pidgey was going to land, and Pidgey could do nothing to stop it. As soon as Pidgey hit the ground, it was shocked by Thunder Wave, paralysing it. Jack smirked.

"Mystic, come back!" Jack shouted, returning Mystic. Falkner, who was shouting words of encouragement at Pidgey, suddenly looked up at Jack, with a worried look in his eyes. "This was your plan, since I sent out Pidgey wasn't it? Very clever" Falkner said. Jack nodded.

"Go! Flare!" Flare came out of the Pokeball, looking at the Pidgey to see the damage, caused by Mystic. "Flare, use Ember! Finish this!" Jack called. Flare ran closer to the fallen Pidgey, who was trying and failing, to stand.

Flare stopped and opened his mouth, a torrent of flames pouring from his maw. The racing flames poured towards Pidgey and engulfed it, like a sea of fire, licking at the fallen Tiny Bird Pokemon. A small cry of pain and Pidgey had fainted, the flames receded.

The charred, spasming, fainted Pidgey was recalled by Falkner, as the referee called, "Pidgey is unable to battle! The winner is Charmander! Falkner, please choose your final Pokemon!".

"You've done well so far Jack! This is the best battle I've had in a long time, however it only gets harder from here! Go! Pidgeotto!".

_"Well… that can't be good" _Thought Jack, smiling, planning his next move. He knew one of his Pokemon was going to be knocked out, it was inevitable… unless. Jack smirked, _"Stun them, evade hits and hit them hard & fast"._

Jack waited for the referee to say his piece. "The challenger will get the first move! Begin!". Falkner was waiting for the switch, he knew Dratini was coming out to stun Pidgeotto and he had the perfect plan to stop that. The last thing, he expected happened.

"Flare return! You did great" Jack said to Flare, as the red light from his Pokeball hit him. Jack pulled his 3rd Pokeball out and threw it at the ground in front of him, with a, "Go Crystal!". Falkner's mind boggled, his 3rd Pokemon?

Crystal emerged from her Pokeball, she got a grin from Jack and remembered the plan. Falkner remembered Jack warning him about his other two Pokemon, but he never expected a second, shiny Dratini. Both Falkner and the referee were stunned by the shiny Pokemon.

Jack dimly heard the flabbergasted referee croak, "Begin". Jack immediately went at it. "Crystal! Use Thunder Wave!". Crystal unleashed a massive bolt of electricity, which slammed into Pidgeotto, knocking it out of the sky. Jack immediately followed up.

"Crystal, use Extremespeed to power-up your Dragon Rush attack!". Crystal remember the combo move she, Mystic and Jack had helped her work on. It used Extremespeeds unmatchable speed to power-up her Dragon Rush, slamming into her opponent at high velocity.

Pidgeotto and Falkner never even saw it coming. Falkner had finally snapped out of his shock when he saw his Pidgeotto get hit by Thunder Wave. _"Game Over" _Falkner thought, grimly. Just as he opened his mouth, Jack ordered an attack and his Dratini disappeared.

A millisecond later, Crystal slammed into Pidgeotto, knocking it to Falkner's right. Jack was thankful that Falkner wasn't behind Pidgeotto, when he ordered Crystal to use the finishing move. "Crystal, end this with a full powered Dragonbreath!" Jack shouted.

Crystal seemed to half scream, half roar as she powered up her Dragonbreath. She knew Pidgeotto wasn't getting up any time soon, and she was close enough, due to the head on attack a few seconds earlier. With another roar, she unleashed her attack.

Pidgeotto had just got slammed into a wall and so was, understandably, disoriented. All he wanted right now, was to stop the Pidgey's flying round it's head. Trying to pull itself out of the wall, it suddenly heard a feminine roar.

_"Well… this is going to hurt"_ he thought, dryly. Seconds later, he passed out from the pain.

Jack called Crystal back over to his side of the field, as the purple dragon fire around Pidgeotto receded. Pidgeotto had fainted and Falkner was completely speechless, so was the referee. Jack coughed politely, to get the referee's attention.

After a few seconds the referee shouted, "Pidgeotto is unable to battle!" Falkner snorted. "Dratini is the winner and the victory goes to Jack, from Pallet Town!".

After the battle had officially ended, Falkner and Jack recalled their Pokemon and shook hands, the referee had wandered off somewhere, shaking his head and muttering, "Two Dratinis, unbelievable". Jack and Falkner had both walked to the Pokemon Centre.

After handing Nurse Joy their Pokemon and telling her of Jack's victory, Jack and Falkner sat down in one of the booths. Falkner finally spoke up, "That… was one of the best battles I've ever had".

"I have to admit, it was my most difficult battle to date" replied Jack. Falkner handed Jack a video cassette. Jack looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That was our battle" Falkner replied, quickly. "You mentioned a friend back in Pallet, you could send that to him".

Jack smiled, it was very thoughtful of Falkner to do that for him. "Thanks a lot, I'm sure that will have Ash raving for ages" Jack replied, with a chuckle. "So" Falkner turned to Jack, "A shiny Dratini, eh?". Then he chuckled.

"I can't believe I fell for that, gym leaders are supposed to be professional and prepared for anything, you totally threw me with that, and it cost me the match". Then Falkner grinned at Jack, "It was a great match though, she packs quite a punch". Jack nodded, laughing.

"You have no idea" replied Jack, thinking of all the times Crystal had pushed Mystic around. "I was thinking" began Falkner, reaching into his pocket, "I have this spare ™ 51 - Roost, most of your Pokemon will be able to use it was they fully evolve".

Falkner handed the ™ 51 to Jack, who gratefully accepted. "I'd like for you to have that, as a reminded of our great battle" Falkner said.

Nurse Joy walked over to Jack, "Your Pokemon didn't sustain too much damage and they're fully healed". She handed 4 Pokeballs over to Jack, who placed them on his Pokebelt.

Her smiling face, turned into a frown as she looked at Falkner, like a mother scolding a naughty child, "But you however, Mr. Gym Leader, your Pokemon require at least a day here, before they're fully healed. Next time, don't push them so much!".

Falkner spoke up, in protest, "Hey! I wasn't Mr. Challenger over here" pointing his thumb over his shoulder, at Jack, "He was the one who did all of the damage to my poor innocent Pokemon" Falkner added, with an innocent expression on his face.

Unfortunately for him, Nurse Joy seemed to have a soft spot for Jack. "I don't think so Mr Gym Leader, your Pokemon are your responsibility. Don't try to place the blame on innocent little Jack, over here" she said, smiling towards the end. Jack was trying to hide a laugh behind a cough.

Falkner just pouted, "Fine, next time I won't push them so hard". Nurse Joy nodded, her frown instantly turned into a smile. "Good!" she said. Jack looked up at Nurse Joy, laughing fit over, "Nurse Joy, is there anyway for me to mail something to my friend in Kanto?" he asked.

Nurse Joy thought for a second, "A shipment of excess manufactured medical supplies, is going from New Bark Town to Cinnabar, stopping off at Pallet Town to distribute to the mainland. I could ask them to send that along with it, to be delivered to Oak's Lab. Would that be okay?". Jack nodded. "That would be great Nurse Joy! Thanks" Jack said, handing her the video tape. "Right then, if that's all, I have Pokemon to take care of" said Nurse Joy, mock-glaring at Falkner, who chuckled.

Jack looked over at Falkner, "it's been great speaking to you Falkner, but I'm feeling wiped out from the day I've had, so I'm going to sleep early". Falkner nodded, standing up and stretching. "That's okay Jack, you get your rest, you deserve it. Oh! Before I forget!".

Falkner reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny looking badge. The badge was hexagon shaped, looking like a pair of wings, they were metallic grey colour. Jack thanked Falkner for the battle and the badge, then left the table. Jack walked over to Nurse Joy.

"Hey Nurse Joy, is my previous room available?" he asked. Nurse Joy nodded, handing him a key. Jack nodded his thanks, almost too tired to speak. After climbing the stairs and finding his room, Jack let out Flare, Crystal and Mystic.

"I'm beat you guys, so I'm going to sleep, if you need anything wake me up, I trust you to behave" Jack said, with a smile. He put the 3 Pokeballs on the bedside table, got undressed and went to sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: **

Woo! Over 7000 words in this chapter!

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

We would also like to thank everyone that has sent in suggestions for trainers and their teams, all of them have been catalogued and we will try to fit them all in as best we can.

**B/N:**

I would like to once again like to say;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

Be sure to check back here next tomorrow, for another chapter!

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	8. Azalea Town, Evolutions & Team Rocket

Hi everyone and welcome back! We hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Azalea Town, Evolutions &amp; Team Rocket!<strong>

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**Jack called Crystal back over to his side of the field, as the purple dragon fire around Pidgeotto receded. Pidgeotto had fainted and Falkner was completely speechless, so was the referee. Jack coughed politely, to get the referee's attention.**

**After a few seconds the referee shouted, "Pidgeotto is unable to battle!" Falkner snorted. "Dratini is the winner and the victory goes to Jack, from Pallet Town!".**

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><p>Waking up the next morning, Jack remembered Falkner's parting words;<p>

_"For your next gym badge, I would suggest Azalea Town"._

Jack nodded to himself, Azalea Town was where he'd planned to go next. To get to Azalea Town, Jack would have to go through Union Cave. Jack walked down to the main lobby of the Pokemon Centre, nodding at Nurse Joy with a smile, who smiled back. Jack headed north from the Pokemon Centre, towards the Violet City gym.

Then he turned and headed west, coming up to the PokeMart, as he'd stocked up before the gym battle, Jack didn't need anything yet. Jack turned south and headed towards Route 32.

After walking for a while, Jack came across a trainer called Albert, who challenged him to a 2 on 2 battle. Albert called out his Rattata, while Jack went with Flare. Flare beat the Rattata and Albert withdrew Rattata, then called out his Zubat.

Flare had a harder time with Zubat, mainly because Zubat kept using Supersonic and Leech-Life. Eventually however, Flare pulled off the victory. A little while later, a young girl called Liz, challenged Jack to a 1 on 1 battle. Liz called out her female Nidoran.

Jack went with Flare. Flare immediately used Ember on Nidoran, burning her in the process, after that, the match was pretty much over. Surprisingly, after the match, Liz gave Jack her phone number, telling him to call her for a rematch sometime, before running off. Shaking his head, Jack moved on.

Later on, Jack found some fishermen stood on a dock, over a lake, who were catching Water-type Pokemon, using their fishing rods and asked to battle them. Hyper could use the battle experience. Jack introduced himself to them and asked for a battle.

The fishermen, Bob and Justin, accepted.

Jack faced off against Fisherman Bob, who called out his Poliwag. Jack called out Hyper and had him use Bounce. Hyper slammed into Poliwag. Jack told Hyper to use Tackle.

The large fish tackled Poliwag, from underneath, rocketing Poliwag onto the dock, knocked out. Bob recalled his Poliwag, then called out a second Poliwag.

Before Jack could call out a move, Hyper dived underwater. Bob told his Poliwag to chase him.

Underwater, Hyper began to glow white. Back on the dock, Jack's eyes widened in shock, along with Bob's and Justin's.

Back underwater, Hyper's body morphed, from the orange fish size, to a medium sized, blue sea serpent. Hyper re-emerged, breaking the surface of the lake with a loud roar. Jack could have laughed at the look on the fishermen's faces, upon seeing his new Gyarados.

Jack looked back at Hyper, smiling. Jack called for Hyper to attack. Hyper roared, turning to face the, now frightened, Poliwag. Hyper shot at the Poliwag, biting down on it, before releasing it and throwing it into the air. If you looked closely at Hyper, a purple light could be seen in his mouth.

Before Jack could say anything, Hyper roared, releasing a large purple looking beam of fire at the Poliwag, who was still falling through the air. Poliwag landed with a cry of pain, then fainted. Jack's eyebrows shot up. That was a Bite attack, followed by what seemed to be a Dragon Rage attack. It seemed Hyper had learnt some new moves upon evolving.

After battling two more fishermen, including Justin, the other fisherman and a third fisherman, further down the dock, Jack pulled out his Pokedex. Jack called Hyper over, as he wanted to scan his new Gyarados, to check him out and to check out his new moves.

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><p><em><strong>Gyarados - The Atrocious Pokemon. Once it appears, it goes on a rampage. It remains enraged until it demolishes everything around it.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 21'04"**_

_**Weight: 518.0 lbs**_

_**Ability: Intimidate - Intimidate lowers the physical attack level of a Pokemon, upon sight.**_

_**New Move(s) Learnt: Thrash, Bite, Dragon Rage, Leer**_

_**Thrash is a Normal-type attack. The user attacks two or three times in a row and then becomes confused.**_

_**Bite is a Dark-type attack. The target is bitten with viciously sharp fangs. It may make the target flinch.**_

_**Dragon Rage is a Dragon-type attack. This attack hits the target with a shock wave of pure rage. It will always do the same amount of damage.**_

_**Leer is a Normal-type attack. The user leers at the target with sharp eyes. The target's defence is lowered.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Splash**_

_** Tackle**_

_**Bounce**_

_**Thrash**_

_**Bite**_

_**Dragon Rage**_

_**_**Leer**_**_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Twister**_

_**Ice Fang**_

_**Aqua Tail**_

_**Rain Dance**_

_**Hydro Pump**_

_**Dragon Dance**_

_**Hyper Beam**_

_**Dive**_

_**Icy Wind**_

_**Snore**_

_**Spite**_

_**Uproar**_

_**Iron Head**_

_**Outrage**_

_**Headbutt**_

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><p>Hyper looked proud of his new moves. Jack looked up at him, smiling, "Awesome, you got new moves and a new form Hyper, I told you we'd show them all", he said, referring to what he had said in Dragons Den. Hyper nodded. Jack smiled and recalled Hyper into his Pokeball.<p>

Jack continued walking, meeting up with a kid his age called Roland, who challenged him to a 1 on 1 Pokemon battle. Jack lead off with Flare, while Roland sent out a male Nidoran. Roland had Nidoran use Focus Energy, while Jack had Flare use Ember. The Nidoran seemed hurt by the attack, but still able to carry on.

Roland had Nidoran use Double Kick, which slammed into Flare. Jack had Flare finish Nidoran off, with a second Ember attack. Needless to say, Flare wasn't very happy with the way Nidoran kicked him, twice. Flare blew a massive stream of fire at Nidoran.

Nidoran fainted and Roland recalled it.

Further on, Jack battled another boy, called Gordon, who had a Wooper. Jack lead with Mystic this time, wanting to give Flare a little break from battling. Mystic surprised Jack by using a new move, Twister.

It literally blew Wooper away, sending him flying into a tree, knocking him out and ending the battle. Jack grabbed his Pokedex and scanned Mystic.

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><p><em><strong>Dratini - The Dragon Pokemon. This Pokemon is full of life energy. It continually sheds its skin and grows steadily larger.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 5'07"**_

_**Weight: 8.2 lbs**_

_**Ability: Shed Skin - If Dratini is inflicted with a status condition, it has the chance of healing.**_

_**New Move Learnt: Twister**_

_**Twister is a basic Dragon-type attack. The user whips up a vicious tornado to tear at the target. It may make the target flinch. Damage is increased if the target is airborne.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Wrap  
><strong>__**Leer  
><strong>__**Thunder Wave  
><strong>__**Extremespeed*  
><strong>__**Light Screen (Egg Move)  
><strong>__**Dragon Breath (Egg Move)  
>Twister<strong>_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Dragon Rage  
>Slam<br>Agility**_

_***Note: Extremespeed is a move, only Dratini from Dragons Den can learn. Extremespeed is a priority move, like Quick Attack.**_

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><p>Mystic looked very proud of himself. Jack praised Mystic for learning a new move and made him promise to teach it to Crystal.<p>

Continuing on, Jack found himself being challenged to a battle with a Flying-type Pokemon trainer, in front of the entrance to Union Cave. Jack called out Crystal and had her use Icy Wind on the Pidgey. However, it seemed Crystal didn't like being shown up by Mystic.

She combined Icy Wind, with a different move, Twister. The combo move slammed into the Pidgey knocking it out, leaving his trainer speechless in the process. Pidgey's trainer quickly recalled him, before making a hasty retreat.

Jack looked at Crystal, amused, "I think you scared him off". Crystal didn't seem to find it funny. Jack didn't see the need to scan Crystal, after getting the information previously from Mystic, so he congratulated Crystal on her new move, before moving on.

Entering Union Cave, Jack looked around for awhile, battling his way through hordes of Sandshrew, Geodude and Zubat. Jack finally came across another trainer, who had a Vulpix he was using for light, much the same as Jack was with Flare.

They decided not to battle, in fear of plunging the cave into darkness, so Jack walked on.

Jack found a Hiker named Daniel near a pool, oddly enough his only Pokemon was an Onix. Battling it with Flare was no small feat, but Flare pulled through in the end, scoring multiple hits with Metal Claw, winning the battle. Jack walked on, meeting up with another Hiker.

This Hiker's name was Lee and he had 3 Geodude, he had recently caught. Jack invited him to use them against his Flare, one at a time. The first was the weakest, dispatched with 1 Metal Claw, the 2nd with 2 Metal Claws. The third however was different.

Not only was it his strongest, it seemed to have previous battle experience, it took Jack awhile and Flare multiple Metal Claw hits to knock it out.

Jack turned to thank Lee for the battle, before moving on.

Further into Union Cave, a trainer had challenged him to a battle, since Flare was walking by Jack's side still, he eagerly stepped up, Jack nodded. The other trainer sent out a Koffing.

Jack began the battle, ordering Flare to use Ember. The burning Koffing tried rolling on the ground, to put out the flames, Flare rolled his eyes, before launching another Ember attack, engulfing the Koffing in flames and creating smoke. A few minutes later, the smoke cleared and Koffing was knocked out.

Thanking the trainer for the battle, Jack moved on. There was a large lake, that reminded Jack of the lake he had to cross in Dark Cave. A trainer he saw had a Slowpoke in the water, turned around and asked for a battle, Jack decided to go with Hyper.

Hyper roared at the Slowpoke, before using Dragon Rage. Surprising the Slowpoke got up and tried to tackle Hyper, who was too quick and dodged. Jack called for Hyper to use Bite. Hyper bit down on Slowpoke, eliciting a cry of pain, knocking it out and ending the battle.

Finally, Jack managed to see the exit, racing towards it, while Flare managed to cut down the many Geodude in their path. Just as Jack exited the cave, the sky brightened, leaving the soaking, wet grass, glistening in the sunlight.

A Hiker named Anthony came up and asked him for a battle, Flare looked ready to go, so he stepped up. The Hiker called out a Machop. The Superpower Pokemon surprised Jack with the ferocity of it's attacks, switching between Karate Chops and Low Kicks.

Flare managed to come out on top, after a series of Ember and Metal Claw attacks. The Hiker nodded his thanks and moved away, presumably to heal his fallen Pokemon. Jack continued on.

Seeing houses over the tree tops, Jack increased his walking speed, hoping to get to Azalea Town by nightfall.

Jack came across a strange sight. A man, wearing a full black suit and a black cap, with the letter 'R' in red on it, had an elderly man in his grasp, telling him to stay away from this place. Jack stepped up, with Flare by his side, who was ready to defend his master and friend, at all costs.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, "What are you doing? Leave the old guy alone!". The man in black quickly backed off. It appeared to Jack, the man was merely blocking the slope down to a well. Jack decided to forget about the man in black, unless he became an issue.

Jack instead, turned to check on the old man. "Hey-" started Jack, before stopping again. The old man was nowhere to be found. Jack shrugged and continued his walk, towards Azalea Town.

Jack walked into town, he couldn't see the old man anywhere, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and walked towards the Pokemon Centre. His Pokemon weren't too bad, health wise, but you never can be too careful. Nurse Joy smiled at him, when he entered.

"You must be Jack, my 2nd cousin in Violet City wouldn't shut up about you" she said. Jack smiled at her, wondering if all the Nurse Joys have a soft spot for him. "Now then, do your Pokemon need healing?" she asked. Jack nodded, handing his Pokeballs over to her.

Nurse Joy took them and walked into the back room. Sometime later, about half an hour, she came back. "All your Pokemon are healed", "Thanks Nurse Joy", "Your welcome Jack".

_"It's not too late, so I guess I'll walk around the town" _thought Jack. Walking round, Jack saw another man in black blocking the entrance to Azalea's gym.

Deciding to give the gym a miss, Jack walked on. Jack also saw a guy, standing near the other exit of Azalea Town, the entrance to Ilex Forest.

The guy told him that, the Charcoal Man's Pokemon can cut down some tough trees, in Ilex Forest, clearing the way through to Route 34 and the next city, Goldenrod City. Jack decided he would have to find the 'Charcoal Man'.

Jack noticed two men in black making their way into a house on the end of the town, walking forwards, Jack could hear screams. Jack started to sprint, calling upon Flare, who began to run as his side.

Making his way up the drive, the screams got louder, "No! Stop! Leave grandpa alone!".

Jack ran into the house, crashing through the door. The two men in black stood on in shock, while a third, the same elderly man from before, was on the floor, with a nasty bruise on his left cheek, a little girl was hiding behind the sofa. Jack stepped forwards.

"Get out or I'll make you, you have no business here" he said, in a commanding voice. Flare charged at the men, stopping just before he got to them.

The men in black nodded, running from the house. Flare cut a scary picture, Jack mused.

Flare's claws were sharp, glowing in the light, his mouth open slightly, with flames licking at the sides of his mouth, his tail burning brighter and hotter than ever before.

"Flare, return, good job buddy" said Jack, recalling Flare, when he realised he was scaring the little girl. Jack walked forwards and held out his hand to the elderly man, helping him off of the floor. "Are you okay, sir?" Jack questioned, then he introduced himself, "My name is Jack".

"I'm fine now, thanks to you. My name is Kurt and this is my granddaughter, Mazie. Thank you for rescuing us". The little girl, Mazie, echo'd her grandpa's thanks. Jack blushed slightly, "It was nothing. What did they want?".

The elderly man, Kurt, scowled, before saying, "I'm not sure whether your from around here on not, but I make Pokeballs from the Acorns off of Acorn trees. These guys, introduced themselves as Team Rocket, they said they wanted all the Pokeballs I had".

Kurt then shook his fist in anger, "They said if I didn't do as they said, they would hurt Mazie until I did. They were about to go after her when you came in". Mazie sniffed slightly. "Are they hiding out in the well?" Jack asked. Kurt nodded. Jack stood up.

"I'm going after them, they can't get away with this". Kurt stood up, "I'm going with you". Jack looked sceptical, eyeing the large bruise, which had formed on his face, "Are you sure Kurt?". Kurt deflated, shaking his head. Jack nodded. "It's okay, I'll go find out what's going on".

Kurt nodded, "Good luck Jack".

Jack walked out of Kurt's house and west of Azalea Town, towards the well, named Slowpoke's Well, apparently. Kurt had given him some background on it, before Jack had left. Jack found himself back over by the entrance to the well. The same Team Rocket was guarding it.

Jack walked up to him, "Move" was all he said. The Rocket guard looked at him, shocked, before replying, "Heck no, you want to get passed me? You'll need to beat my Pokemon". As he said this, he called out his two Rattata. Jack nodded, calling out Crystal and Mystic.

"Crystal, Mystic, use Thunder Wave!". They nodded, launching large bolts of electricity at the foe's Rattata, which had no time to move, as the attacks were going too quickly. Paralysed and twitching, the Rocket member ordered them to use Tackle. Jack shook his head.

"Not going to happen, use Extremespeed to dodge and then use Dragonbreath" Crystal and Mystic nodded, then they disappeared, in the blink of an eye. The Rattata looked around, before being engulfed by purple dragon fire, they fell to the ground, knocked out.

The Rocket member recalled his fallen Pokemon, before running down the slope and almost diving into the well. Jack assumed there was a base of some kind down there. Jack recalled Crystal and Mystic.

Jack walked down the slope and up to the well, he saw a ladder, leading down. Climbing down, Jack eventually reached the bottom, which was a damp, rocky floor. Walking down a torch lit cave, he found an opening.

When Jack entered, he was amazed at the size of the cave he'd found himself in. In the centre of the cave, was a large, crystal clear lake, with lots of Slowpoke, huddled in one corner.

Off to one side of the cave, Jack saw several Team Rocket members; the guy from the entrance, two from Kurt's house house, two others and one that was dressed like the rest of the rockets, but had strikingly green hair and a yellow trim on his black jacket, he looked like the leader. 4 males and 2 females, all of which had the same outfit, black t-shirts and trousers, with a large, red 'R' on the front of the t-shirts. Jack had already battled 1 of the members, so 5 more to go.

Jack crept behind a large rock and listened to their conversation. "He's down here boss, I ran down here, after he beat me", "How could you let him follow you?!", "Dammit, you let him down here?!", "You fool Jefferson, you could endanger the entire mission".

Before Jack could find out what the mission was, he saw the two men from Kurt's house stand up and walk in his direction. Jack leaped out from behind the rock, calling upon Flare and Hyper. At the sight of Hyper, the two men ran backwards, alerting their teammates.

"He's here boss, the same kid from before!", "He's got a Gyarados, sir!". Jack stepped forwards, towards the leader. The two women stepped forwards, "Allow us to handle this brat, Executive Proton!", "Yes, we will handle this young fool sir!".

The two Rockettes sent out Zubats, as Jack already had Flare and Hyper out, he was ready to go and he wasn't bothered about 'ladies first', "Hyper, use Dragon Rage! Flare, use Ember!" he called. Hyper and Flare roared at their opponents, one launching a beam of purple dragon fire, one launching a cone of fire at their enemies.

It came as no surprise to Jack, when the Zubats fainted, Flare and Hyper were much stronger than them. The Rockettes growled and recalled their Pokemon, having failed their leader, they ran back.

The two male Rockets from before, "Let us handle this fool, Executive Proton, sir!", "Yes, we will handle this child, Executive Proton!". The final man, Proton, scowled, but nodded his consent. The two grunts called out their Pokemon, two Koffings.

"Do you two want to carry on?" Jack asked his Pokemon, who nodded in reply. "Very well, Flare, Smokescreen, Hyper use the Smokescreen as cover and use Bite!". Flare unleashed a large amount of smoke, covering them. "Koffing, stay on guard", "You too Koffing!".

Hyper slithered his way through the smoke, before coming across his prey, biting down hard on it. "Koffing! No!", "Koffing, use Tackle!". The other Koffing rammed into Hyper's side, sending it into the lake, who pulled the first Koffing with it. The smoke cleared.

"Flare use Ember on the other Koffing! Hyper release the Koffing in your mouth and use Dragon Rage!" Jack called. The two attack hit both of the Koffings, knocking them out. They were recalled, as Hyper and Flare returned to Jack's side.

The two Rocket grunts returned to Proton. "You have all failed me, this operation was simple. Cut off the Slowpoke tails and sell them. How you could mess this up, I have no clue. Now, I, Executive Proton, must enter the battlefield" said Proton, shaking his head.

Jack walked closer to the Team Rocket members, while Proton stood and walked towards him, "I will end this now, boy. Go! Koffing! Zubat!". Two strong looking Pokemon materialised, in twin flashes of white light.

_"It looks like those two will be working together" _thought Jack. "Flare, Hyper, return!" Jack recalled his Pokemon, as beams of red light hit them, returning them to their Pokeballs, for some rest.

"Go! Crystal! Mystic!". Crystal and Mystic came out of their Pokeballs in twin flashes of white light.

Proton's eyebrows rose, "Two Dratinis boy? One is a shiny as well. These will make excellent Pokemon for Team Rocket. I shall take them from you once I win".

Jack clenched his jaw, before grinning like a madman. If Mystic looked offended by Proton's statement, Crystal looked furious. Jack turned to them, "Did you hear that, if we lose, Team Rocket will take you away from me, they would probably split you up too" he added.

Mystic looked deathly calm, while Crystal turned into a raging inferno. Her face turned hard, like steel, preparing themselves for the coming battle. She was not going to lose, she would not be parted from her trainer, or her mate. She knew her Mystic thought the same thing.

They nodded to each other. Jack grinned internally, this was going to be amusing.

Crystal started it off, by simply disappearing from existence, using her Extremespeed attack, while Mystic used Light Screen, Jack knew words would not be necessary for this match. Crystal reappeared, slamming into Koffing, with her Dragon Rush attack.

Proton stared, incredulous, at the pair of Dratini who were destroying his Pokemon. At first, he thought they had gone wild, as the boy hadn't ordered them to attack. But that notion was swiftly struck from his mind, once he saw the boy's confident smirk.

"Zubat! Use Supersonic! Koffing! Use Smog!" Proton ordered, with a frown on his face. Proton growled as he watched the two attacks hit Mystic's Light Screen. Crystal retaliated by smashing, head-first into his Pokemon with a Dragon Rush attack.

The pair of Dratini were working well together, loath he admit it, one would attack, hard and fast, while the other would stay back and defend.

Jack spoke up, after a while, of watching Crystal destroy the enemy. "Crystal, Mystic. End this, Dragonbreath, full power!" he called. Crystal returned to her mate's side and together, they charged up their final attacks. Unleashing them both together.

The twin giant purple dragon fire attacks seemed to merge into one, before slamming into the foe's Koffing and Zubat, who cried out, before fainting. Proton scowled at his Pokemon, before calling them back.

"We will retreat for now, but know this. Team Rocket will rise! Either join us or taste defeat at our hands" the cave suddenly descended into darkness. Jack called out Flare, who's tail lit the surrounding area. Jack discovered Team Rocket had escaped, using darkness as their cover.

Wearily, Jack recalled Crystal and Mystic, after congratulating them on a good battle. Jack slowly walked towards the exit, with the light from Flare's tail brighting the dark cave. Reaching the ladder, Jack climbed to the top of the well.

Once he was outside, Jack realised how late it was. The Pokemon Centre would surely closed by now. Fortunately, he found Kurt waiting for him, at the top of the well.

"I just got here, as I saw Team Rocket, retreating into Ilex Forest, you did a good job Jack, thank you" said Kurt, the bruise on his face, non-existent.

Jack smiled, "No problem, happy to help. Unfortunately, the Pokemon Centre is closed, and I have nowhere to go, I guess I could-".

Kurt cut him off, "That's okay, there is plenty of room back at my house. It's the least I could do, after you saved us". Jack nodded, walking along side Kurt, as they walked back towards Azalea Town.

"Thanks for the offer Kurt, I appreciate it. Just know that I'll need to heal my Pokemon at the Pokemon Centre in the morning, so they're ready for my gym battle" said Jack. Kurt nodded.

Jack and Kurt made their way back through Azalea town and towards Kurt's house. After getting settled in, Jack went to sleep, thinking about his battle tomorrow.

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><p><strong>AN: **

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

**B/N:**

Once again the usual request;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

Be sure to check back here next tomorrow, for another chapter!

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


	9. Gym Match vs Bugsy! Rival Battle!

Hi everyone and welcome back! It's time for the last Dragon Master Jack chapter this weekend!

Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak. **

**I only own my OC's.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Gym Match vs Bugsy! Rival Battle!<strong>

**Last time on Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins:**

**"I just got here, as I saw Team Rocket, retreating into Ilex Forest, you did a good job Jack, thank you" said Kurt, the bruise on his face, non-existent. Jack smiled, "No problem, happy to help. Unfortunately, the Pokemon Centre is closed, and I have nowhere to go, I guess I could-".**

**Kurt cut him off, ****"That's okay, we've got plenty of room at my house. It's the least I could do, after you saved us". Jack nodded, walking along side Kurt, as they walked back towards Azalea Town.**

**"Thanks for the offer Kurt, I appreciate it, just know that I'll need to heal my Pokemon at the Pokemon Centre in the morning, so they're ready for my gym battle" said Jack. Kurt nodded.**

**Jack and Kurt made their way back through Azalea town and towards Kurt's house. After getting settled in, Jack went to sleep, thinking about his battle tomorrow.**

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><p>Jack woke up the next morning, wondering where he was. After quickly remembering the events of the previous evening, Jack got up and walked around the house.<p>

Jack found Kurt and Mazie awake in the kitchen, drinking coffee and orange juice. Kurt looked up, as he saw Jack walk in.

"Morning Jack" Kurt said, smiling at him. Jack nodded back, "Morning Kurt, Mazie". Mazie smiled shyly at Jack, "M-morning Jack". Jack nodded back, smiling at Mazie.

After having breakfast, Jack said goodbye to Kurt and Mazie, thanking them for their hospitality. Jack made his way back into town and towards the Pokemon Centre, intent on getting his Pokemon healed, before his next gym match.

Jack made it to the Pokemon Centre, with no events in-between. Jack handed his Pokeballs over to Nurse Joy, after saying hi. Jack only had to wait 30 minutes, before collecting his Pokemon, then he made his way over to the Azalea Town gym.

Up on entering the gym, Jack found himself surrounded by gym trainers. Apparently, Bugsy, the Azalea Gym Leader, was to busy to battle the likes of him. So Jack had to spend his time battling them instead, to 'prove' he was good enough to battle Bugsy.

Jack chose to use Hyper, who thoroughly beat multiple, Caterpies, Weedles, Kakuna and even a Beedrill, which allowed Flare to rest, as Flare would be the starting Pokemon in the battle for the Hive badge.

After Jack had finally beaten all 4 trainers in the gym, besides the gym leader himself, Jack made his way towards the back of the gym and walked up to Bugsy.

"Hi there, your a challenger, right?" Bugsy asked. Jack nodded, "My name is Jack Starburn, from Pallet Town". Bugsy raised his eyebrows, "Pallet Town in the Kanto region?". Jack nodded, again.

"Very well, I accept your challenge" said Bugsy. A referee walked up to Bugsy, and Jack remembered this had happened the same way in Violet City.

The official Pokemon referee, who was stationed in Azalea Town, stepped up and spoke to them both.

"Do you, Bugsy, gym leader of Azalea Town, accept this challenger, with the Azalea gym badge, the Hive badge, at stake?" he asked, seriously.

"I, Bugsy, gym leader of Azalea, accept this challenger, with the Hive badge at stake" Bugsy said, smiling friendly at Jack, who smiled back. The referee stood with a straight face, before moving backwards as Jack and Bugsy took their places on either side of the field.

"Very well then! This will be a 3 on 3 Pokemon battle, where only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! There is no time limit! Do you, Jack Starburn, from Pallet Town, accept these rules?" the referee shouted the first bit, before looking over at Jack, for the last bit.

Jack nodded, before saying. "I accept these rules!". "Very well then! As challenger, Jack will be allowed the first move and choice in Pokemon". Jack nodded, before grabbing Mystic's Pokeball.

"Go! Mystic!" said Jack, as Mystic was called out, in a flash of white light. Mystic growled slightly, seeing Bugsy, who was staring at him, seemingly in shock. Bugsy snapped out of it, before looking up at Jack.

"Rare Pokemon you got there" he called, grinning. Jack grinned back, "Thanks, now call out your Pokemon and we can get this show on the road". Bugsy nodded, "Go! Metapod!". Metapod came out of the Pokeball, blinking.

"Both trainers have chosen their Pokemon, the challenger will make the first move! Begin!" he shouted, stepping back, off of the battlefield. Jack immediately went on the offensive, wanting to get Metapod out of the way, gaining an advantage early on.

"Mystic, use Thunder Wave!". Mystic reared backwards, before unleashing a bolt of electricity at Metapod, who sat there, blinking. "Metapod, Harden!". Metapod glowed for a second, before getting hit by Thunder Wave, getting paralysed in the process.

Bugsy looked shocked, Jack took advantage, "Mystic, use Icy Wind!" Mystic opened his mouth, letting loose an ice cold wind, covering the, now shaking, Metapod with snow and ice. Showing it's strength though, Metapod shook it off, shivering heavily.

"Metapod, use Tackle!". Unfortunately for Bugsy, Metapod don't learn a lot of moves until they evolve into their final form. "Mystic, use Dragonbreath!" Mystic launched a powerful purple dragon fire attack, towards the charging Metapod. It was clear who would win.

When the smoke cleared, Metapod was knocked out, while Mystic was only slightly tired.

The referee spoke up, "Metapod is unable to battle! The winner is Dratini! Bugsy, please choose your next Pokemon!".

"You've done well so far Jack, let's see what you make of my next Pokemon! Go! Scyther!" Bugsy called out his Scyther, which appeared in front of him.

The referee spoke up again, "Bugsy will get the first move! Begin!". "Scyther, use Focus Energy!". A golden aura appeared, surrounding Scyther for the briefest of seconds. Jack made the next move.

"Mystic, use Thunder Wave!". Mystic howled, rearing backwards, launching a large bolt of electricity, towards Scyther. "Scyther! Dodge it!" called Bugsy, desperately hoping his strongest Pokemon would dodge the attack. While Scyther was quick, the attack was quicker.

The bolt of electricity slammed into Scyther's wing, static charges shooting across Scyther's body. Scyther was strong however, it managed to stay on it's feet and mobile.

"Scyther, use U-Turn!". Scyther nodded, launching itself forwards. Scyther slammed into Mystic, before returning to Bugsy. Bugsy quickly threw his 3rd Pokeball. "Go, Kakuna!". Kakuna appeared, almost as suddenly as Scyther left.

Jack knew Scyther was using the resting period to recover slightly, so he decided to do the same. "Mystic, return!" Jack called, shooting the red beam of light at Mystic. Jack pulled out his first Pokemon, "Go! Flare!". Flare appeared in a dazzling, white light.

The referee spoke up again, "Kakuna and Charmander are ready for battle, begin!". Jack decided to go first, "Flare, use Ember!". A large cone of fire flew from Flare's mouth, racing towards the Kakuna.

"Kakuna, dodge and use Poison Sting!" ordered Bugsy. Kakuna managed to dodge the attack, however, it's aim was off on the Poison Sting, both attacks missed their target. Jack tried a different approach, "Flare, use Smokescreen!".

Flare's smoke covered the entire battlefield, neither side could see either Pokemon. "Flare, use a wide-spread Ember!". "Kakuna, use Harden!". Flare's flames found their target, slamming into Kakuna, who cried out. The Harden did nothing to stop the attack.

"Kakuna! Are you okay?" Bugsy called, unable to see his Kakuna. Just as the smoke cleared, a flash of white light lit up the battlefield. Flare jumped back towards Jack, just in time to see his opponent evolve.

_"Well… This just got interesting" _Jack thought, as he brought out his Pokedex, to scan the new Pokemon. Kakuna, being Cocoon Pokemon, can't really do much, attack wise, they can only defend. Kakuna's evolved form Beedrill however, can do a lot of damage.

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><p><em><strong>Beedrill - The Poison Bee Pokemon. It has three poisonous stringers on its forelegs and its tail. They are used to jab its enemy repeatedly.<strong>_

_**Sex: Female**_

_**Ability: Sniper - Critical-hit moves hit even harder than before.**_

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><p>Regardless of the fact that Beedrill had just evolved, being a gym leaders Pokemon, it was very strong. "Beedrill? You evolved, that's great! Okay, start things off with a Fury Attack!" Bugsy called. Beedrill nodded, flying quickly towards it's target.<p>

Jack didn't hang around to see the result, "Flare, dodge and use Metal Claw!". Flare feinted left and moved right at the last second. Spinning left, Flare lunged at Beedrill, with a Metal Claw attack, smashing into it's face. Beedrill buzzed in pain.

"Beedrill, come back and attack from behind with Poison Sting" ordered Bugsy. Attacks like this would usually be effective, against wild Pokemon, who aren't used to interacting with Humans and their language. Flare had spent more than enough time around Jack to understand him.

"Flare, you know what to do!" called Jack. Flare nodded, he knew what to do. Nothing. As Beedrill got closer, Flare suddenly turned and launched a super-effective Ember attack, engulfing the fallen Pokemon. Beedrill was knocked out.

Beedrill was a strong Pokemon, but after two Ember attacks and a Metal Claw, Beedrill was just worn down. Bugsy was down to his last Pokemon, while Jack had Flare, who was rather tired, Mystic, who was not very tired and a 3rd Pokemon, who hadn't yet been used.

When Flare glowed brightly. Jack turned to his Pokemon, with an ecstatic look on his face, his Flare was evolving into a Charmeleon.

After the glow faded, a larger version of Flare was stood there, with bigger claws and a single horn, pointed out from it's head, sloping backwards. Jack eagerly scanned his new Pokemon.

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><p><em><strong>Charmeleon - The Flame Pokemon. It is very hotheaded by nature, so it constantly seeks opponents. It calms down only when it wins.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Height: 3'07"**_

_**Weight: 42.0 lbs**_

_**Ability: Blaze - When health is below 1/3rd, Fire-type moves increase by 1.5 times.**_

_**New Move Learnt: Dragon Rage**_

_**Dragon Rage is a Dragon-type attack. This attack hits the target with a shock wave of pure rage. It will always do the same amount of damage.**_

_**List of Current Attacks:**_

_**Scratch**_

_**Growl**_

_**Metal Claw (Egg Move)**_

_**Ember**_

_**Smokescreen**_

_**Dragon Rage_**  
><strong>_**_

_**List of Future Available Attacks:**_

_**Rage**_

_**Scary Face**_

_**Fire Fang**_

_**Slash**_

_**Fire Punch**_

_**Fury Cutter**_

_**Thunder Punch**_

_**Snore**_

_**Swift**_

_**Heat Wave**_

_**Mud-slap**_

_**Headbutt**_

* * *

><p>Jack turned to Flare, "Did you hear all that buddy? Those are the moves you can learn, before you evolve once more". Flare nodded, his overall attitude not changed in the slightest. Flare held a deep affection for Jack and would never disobey him.<p>

The referee spoke up, "Beedrill is unable to battle! The winner is Charmeleon! Bugsy, please choose your final Pokemon!". Bugsy nodded.

"My last Pokemon, who you've already seen, I know you'll do your best and so will I" said Bugsy, smiling at Jack, "Go! Scyther!". Scyther reappeared, wings buzzing, clashing his scythes together, like someone would do with their fists. The referee nodded.

"The challenger will get the first move! Begin!". Jack thought about how tired Flare was, and decided to use the same tactic as he did with Falkner. _"Shock & Awe" _Jack thought. "Flare! Return!". A beam of red light hit Flare and he disappeared. Jack grabbed his 3rd Pokeball.

"Ready Bugsy?" he taunted. Bugsy smiled and nodded. "Go! Crystal!" Jack called, opening Crystal's Pokeball and with a flash of white light, Crystal appeared.

Bugsy looked stunned for a second, it's not everyday you see a shiny Pokemon after all, then he pulled himself together, "Nice Pokemon, but it's going to take a lot more than different colouring to take us down!" he shouted. Jack smiled, _"That's good, underestimate Crystal"._

"The challenger will get the first move! Begin!" called the referee again. Jack nodded, "Crystal, use Extreme-Rush". Crystal nodded. In their spare time, Jack and Crystal had worked a lot more on that combo move, combining Extremespeed and Dragon Rush.

Jack had thought up the name, unoriginal but simple. Crystal was there one second and gone the next. She disappeared from sight, leaving Bugsy and his Scyther looking round for her. Then, Scyther was slammed backwards, into a wall. Crystal appeared, where Scyther was.

Bugsy's jaw dropped, "Woah! Scyther! Are you okay?". The stunned, paralysed and now, in pain Scyther got up and limped over to Bugsy, before shaking it off. Scyther was in a bad way, but could still fight. For how much longer, was anyone's guess.

Jack shook his head, "Crystal, use Dragonbreath!". "Scyther! Use Quick Attack to get out of the way!". Scyther dodged the purple dragon fire completely, leaving a white trail of light behind, from the Quick Attack. "Crystal, use Leer! Then get in close". Crystal turned to stare at Scyther.

Scyther cringed for a second, before it shook it off. "Now Crystal! Use Wrap!". Crystal was a lot longer than she was when Jack got her. She was now almost 7 feet long.

Quickly slithering over to Scyther, she wrapped herself around it and squeezed. "Scyther! Try to get out!" called Bugsy, panicking. It was no use, Crystal didn't let go.

"Crystal, finish this was a close range Dragonbreath!". Crystal lifted her head up, towards Scyther. Then she let loose her purple dragon fire attack, right into Scyther's face. She felt him go limp, and so unwrapped herself, slithering back over to Jack. Scyther was knocked out.

The referee spoke up, "Scyther is unable to battle! Dratini is the winner and the victory goes to Jack, from Pallet Town!". Bugsy smiled, recalling his Scyther, "You did a good job buddy, now rest". Crystal slithered up Jack, before wrapping herself in her usual position.

Jack couldn't blame her, it was very cold at this time of year. Jack walked up to Bugsy and shook his hand, with Bugsy saying, "Amazing battle Jack, you beat me good. You've trained your Pokemon well so far, but there's a long road ahead". Jack nodded.

Bugsy handed him the Azalea Town's gym badge, saying, "This is the Hive badge, generally the 2nd badge people get, the next stop on your journey for badges would be Goldenrod City" he said, smiling. "Also, take this". Bugsy handed Jack TM89. "This is the TM for the move U-Turn, pretty handy for quick escapes". Jack nodded in thanks, he then turned and left the gym.

Walking out of the gym, Jack headed for the Pokemon Centre, intent to heal his Pokemon, before heading through Ilex Forest and towards Goldenrod City. It seemed fate wanted to delay him however, as a familiar face walked up to him.

"Hey Jack! Did you just get your gym badge?" Luke asked. Jack sighed, then nodded. "Well, when you've healed your Pokemon, I want a battle" said Luke, impatiently. Jack nodded again, "Sure, just let me heal my Pokemon, I'm going to phone a couple of people too".

Luke nodded, "I'll meet you near the entrance to Ilex Forest then" and with that, he promptly left. Jack entered the Pokemon Centre, walking straight over to Nurse Joy.

"Hello again, young man, need your Pokemon healed?" Nurse Joy asked, in a kind but stern manner. In ways only a Nurse Joy can, Jack mused. Jack nodded, "Yes please Nurse Joy". Nurse Joy took the 4 Pokeballs, then walked into the back room, coming out again 1 minute later.

"Your Pokemon will be about 30 minutes" she said. "That's okay, I have a couple of phone calls to make" replied Jack, with a smile. Nurse Joy nodded.

Jack moved over to the corner of the Pokemon Centre, walking towards the phone. He sat on the seat and dialled the Ketchum residence first, this time.

- At the Ketchum residence -

_**"RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!".**_

Ash was sat in the living room, after eating a large lunch, so didn't immediately register the ringing of the phone, due to the fact he was so comfortable. It was only after he heard Delia yelling at him, did he get up.

Looking at the caller ID and seeing Pokemon Centre - Azalea Town - Johto Region. Ash quickly answered the phone.

- Back at the Violet City Pokemon Centre -

"Ash! How are you?" Jack asked, upon seeing his best friend answer the video call. Ash's face lit up in a big smile, "Jack! It's good to see you. Im fine, how are you? Did you win your battle?"

Jack rolled his eyes at Ashes usual hyper mood. _"He's probably just finished lunch. He's always calm when eating and hyper afterwards, more so than usual" _thought Jack. "I'm great" Jack replied, holding up the Hive badge for Ash to see.

Just as Jack did that, Delia walked into the room. "Ooooh! Jack! Well done, you got your second gym badge?!" said Delia, almost as hyper as her son. Jack nodded, "Yeah, I beat the Azalea Town gym leader, Bugsy about half an hour ago".

Jack then went on to explain about his battle against the Bug-Type Pokemon.

"I thought wasn't going to be a very difficult battle, considering the type advantage Flare has over Bug-type Pokemon, but Bugsy really gave me a run for my money". Ash shook his head, "Never underestimate your opponents Jack! You taught me that". Jack laughed.

Delia had a few questions about how Jack was doing, living on his own, away from adult supervision, when Ash interrupted, obviously having just remembered something.

"Jack! Professor Oak sent us the tape of your first gym battle!" Ash practically shouted into the phone. Jack laughed, "Yes, I remember asking the Nurse Joy from Violet City to send it to the Professor's Lab". Ash nodded rapidly, before spewing lots of facts and pointing out bits of the battle. Jack laughed at his exuberance.

Unfortunately, Luke wouldn't wait forever, so Jack had to interrupt Ash. "Sorry Ash, but I'm going to have to go now, I've got a battle to begin and Luke might get impatient". Ash pouted, but nodded his head. After saying his goodbyes, Jack ended the call.

A short while later, Nurse Joy called Jack over, "Here are your Pokemon young man, they're fully healed and ready to go".

Jack smiled, "Thank you Nurse Joy". Jack took his Pokeballs from the tray and headed for the exit.

Jack walked out of the Pokemon Centre and headed west, towards the entrance to Ilex Forest. Jack saw Luke standing near the gateway, which separated Azalea Town and Ilex Forest.

"Hey Jack! Get over here so we can battle already!" Luke shouted, waving from where he was stood, on a patch of grass, near the edge of town.

Jack noticed Luke had two Pokeballs on his belt. "_We've both gotten new Pokemon since last time then_" Jack thought. Jack spoke up.

"The rules?", "A two-on-two Pokemon battle, no time limit" Luke replied, confidently. Jack nodded and threw out his first Pokemon, Flare.

Flare appeared in a flash of white light, stretching and looking around. Luke frowned, but quickly called his first Pokemon. "Go! Rip Jaws!". A Croconaw, the evolved form of Totodile appeared.

Jack's eyebrows skyrocketed. Luke saw his expression and grinned. "Yeah, I gave my Croconaw a nickname". Jack quickly scanned his opponent's Pokemon with his Pokedex.

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><p><em><strong>Croconaw - The Big Jaw Pokemon. There are always 48 fangs lining it's mouth, if it ever loses a fang, a new one quickly grows in it's place.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Ability: Torrent - When health is below 1/3rd, Water-type moves increase by 1.5 times.**_

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><p>Jack was surprised at the lack of information that his Pokedex gave out, but he shrugged it off. "The challenger gets the first attack" Jack called out.<p>

Luke nodded, "Alright, Rip Jaws! Use Water Gun!". Croconaw opened it's mouth and released a stream of water, heading straight for Flare. Jack frowned.

"Flare! Feint left and hit him with a Metal Claw!". Croconaw's eyes lit up and turned his head to his left, expecting Flare to go in that direction. Flare however, kept running to his left, successfully dodging the Water Gun attack and landing his own Metal Claw attack. Luke frowned.

"What the heck was that! He dis-obeyed you!". Jack shook his head. "Nah. We just took advantage of the fact that trainer's Pokemon can understand English, so we tricked you, it's a tactic we've been practising".

Luke frowned harder, "Ugh, Rip Jaws, get in close and use Ice Fang!". Croconaw ran forwards, his teeth turning a light blue colour.

"Flare, charge up Dragon Rage!" Jack ordered. Flare nodded, before opening his mouth slightly and a purple ball could be seen, growing as the seconds past.

"Rip Jaws! Use Ice Fang!" Luke called out. Croconaw managed to latch onto Flare's arm, biting down with Ice-powered teeth. Flare roared in retaliation, releasing his Dragon Rage right into Rip Jaw's face. The resulting blast threw the two Pokemon away from each other, towards their respective trainers.

Both Flare and Rip Jaws managed to stand up, after some coaxing from their trainers.

After staring each other down for a few seconds, Luke spoke up, "Rip Jaws, use Water Gun!". "Flare counter with Smokescreen!". As Croconaw released the stream of water from his mouth, his target disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Flare, use Dragon Rage!" Jack ordered. "Rip Jaws! Dodge it!" Luke shouted, desperately. Flare roared from the middle of the smoke and a beam of purple dragon fire rushed towards the Croconaw. Croconaw was too slow on his feet and was hit by the Dragon Rage, falling backwards onto the grass. Flare didn't look much better, as he appeared to have gotten hit by at least some of the previous Water Gun attack, despite being hidden by the Smokescreen.

"Rip Jaws! Can you stand?" Luke called, uncertainty in his voice. Croconaw managed to stand up and once again, both Pokemon stared each other down.

"Alright Flare, finish this with a Metal Claw attack!" called Jack. Flare nodded and began closing down on his target.

"Rip Jaws! End this with Ice Fang!" Luke called, clenching his fists. Croconaw barked and began walking forwards, his mouth slightly open and teeth glistening in the sunlight as they were in-cased in ice.

As the Pokemon met, Croconaw latched onto Flare's left shoulder, biting down. At the same time, Flare brought his right paw down on Croconaw's left side, his claws, a bright grey, scratching Croconaw's hide. Both Pokemon cried out in pain, before falling backwards, away from each other.

Both Jack and Luke shouted their respective Pokemon's names, "Flare!", "Rip Jaws!". Both Pokemon were knocked out. Jack recalled Flare, with a beam of red light, back to his Pokeball. "You did good Flare, well done". Jack heard Luke whispering his appreciation to Croconaw, as he recalled his fallen Pokemon.

Jack reached for Hyper's Pokeball, just as Luke shouted, "Go! Thor!". Jack eyebrows raised as he watched an Elekid materialise on the grass. Once again, he pulled out his Pokedex to scan the Pokemon, releasing his hand from Hyper's Pokeball.

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><p><em><strong>Elekid - The Electric Pokemon. It spins it arms to generate electricity. However, there is a limit to how much it can store in its small body.<strong>_

_**Sex: Male**_

_**Ability: Static - The opponent has a 30% chance of being Paralysed when using an attack physical contact on this Pokemon.**_

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><p>Jack nodded thoughtfully, his hand reaching for Crystal's Pokeball. Using Hyper for this battle wouldn't be a good idea, as Electric-type Pokemon have a massive advantage against Water and Flying-type Pokemon. Jack threw Crystal's Pokeball into the air, shouting, "Go! Crystal!". The pink Dratini appeared in a flash of white light.<p>

Luke whistled appreciatively, "Those sure are some interestingly coloured Pokemon you've got Jack". Jack simply smiled in reply.

Luke laughed, before calling out, "Thor, use Swift!". The Elekid brought his arms out in front of him, then a star formed between his hands, before shooting out at lightning speeds towards Crystal. Crystal took the hit well, not even crying out in pain, simply staring the opposing Pokemon down.

"Crystal, use Icy Wind" Jack ordered. Crystal opened her mouth and a storm of ice and snow blew across the grass, towards the Elekid, who was buffeted by the small storm. Luke frowned, "Thor, use Thundershock!". "'Lekid!", shouted Elekid, as he began to spin his arms, slowly walking forwards towards Crystal, with a smirk on his face.

Crystal didn't look intimidated in the slightest. "Crystal, use Extremespeed to power-up your Dragon Rush attack!" called Jack. Crystal nodded, before disappearing from her spot on the grass.

Elekid stopped spinning his arms, as he had no target, however, there was lots of electrical discharge, arcing off of his body. Elekid had just begun to look around for his wayward target, when a pink missile, while a large, blue aura hit him at full speed. Elekid was rocketed backwards, hitting a tree on one side of the clearing.

Crystal it seemed, wasn't as fine as she was at the start of the battle, as evidenced by the electrical sparks, racing along her body. As Luke began running towards his fallen Pokemon, Jack looked down at Crystal.

"It seems you've been Paralysed" Jack said, frowning at the pain his Pokemon must have been in. Crystal simply shook her head, before looking up at the sky and roaring. Suddenly, Crystal started to glow, a white aura appearing around her for a couple of seconds, before disappearing. Jack took another look at her and started grinning, realising what just happened.

"You just activated your ability, Shed Skin, right Crystal?" Jack half stated, half asked. Crystal smiled smugly, before hearing a noise and turning back towards the direction of her opponent. Jack looked up and saw Luke, who was walking back towards them with a sad smile on his face and a yellow bundle in his arms.

As Luke reached Jack and Crystal, Jack spoke up, "Is Elekid okay?" he asked, worriedly. Luke half shook his head, before stopping, "He'll be fine, I only got him recently, so he's rather young, that combo from your Dratini took him out". Jack looked closer and saw Elekid had swirls in his eyes, he was out for the count.

Jack and Luke both shook hands and recalled their respective Pokemon, as the victory went to Jack.

As they both were walking back to the Pokemon Centre, Luke turned to Jack and asked "So, Jack, where are you planning on going next?", "I'll be heading through Ilex Forest and towards Goldenrod City" Jack replied. Luke nodded, murmuring his agreement.

Upon entering the Pokemon Centre, Nurse Joy was there to receive their Pokemon as they reached the main desk. Nurse Joy told them both that their Pokemon would be fully healed by the next morning and to stay the night at the Pokemon Centre.

After agreement and mutual goodnights, Jack and Luke left to get a goodnights sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: **

Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.

**B/N:**

We would once again like to ask the viewers the usual request;

"If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams!"

Be sure to check back here next weekend, for three more chapters of Dragon Master Jack!

Thanks for reading,

Dragon Master Jack.


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